Elemental Hearts: InsideOutside
by Gemini Star01
Summary: Side stories to Kingdom of the Elemental Hearts. We know about Kouji and Sora, but what’s happening to Kouichi and Riku? Scenes from the other side of the window...
1. Night in the Darkness

This is a collection of side stories for my story _Kingdom of the Elemental Hearts_. There really isn't a good time to show a lot of Riku/Kouichi scenes during the story, so every now and then I'll stick in a little side chapter here. I don't think I'll even bother SyaoranLover with beta'ing them. They really don't have any time in the story, though they all run together eventually. Think of it like _Reverse/Rebirth_ in contrast to _Chain of Memories._

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Warnings: These chapters contain extremely mild Riku/Kouichi shonen-ai hints, but nothing obvious. The limits are holding hands, getting close to each other, and meaningful glances, and that's it.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Kouichi, Riku, Mickey or anything else having to do with Kingdom Hearts or Digimon Frontier. I do, however, have a deep longing to own plushies of said pair (Kouichi and Riku), if I could ever find them…T.T

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Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside

Chapter 1: Night In The Darkness

Riku sighed, tossing silver locks out of his crystal blue eyes. No matter what he tried, he couldn't get to sleep…It was probably a blessing in disguise. Around here, they could always use a lookout, even when hiding in a ditch surrounded by trees so that every motion around them was practically over a loud speaker. But in the realm of Darkness, no one could be too careful, even if they were, as he was, gifted with the powers of Darkness itself.

The silver-haired figure flexed his black-gloved hand contemplatively. It had been several painfully long months since he had accepted and tempered the darkness inside of him for his own use and protection, and yet its presence still bothered him somewhat. It wasn't that he was afraid of the darkness, of course, it was just rather uncomfortable being the only one with that kind of 'ability'.

No…Not the only one.

Riku glanced out from his place beside a large rock, into the barely-lit area surrounding their tiny campfire. There were two figures, each on a different side of the barely-smoldering fire, curled under the light, black cloths that easily doubled as cloaks. His eyes focused on the closest figure, facing away from the fire so Riku could see his face.

His name was Kouichi Kimura, and truth be told he was the most normal person Riku had met during his travels through other worlds. At least, he was a bit more normal by Riku's standards, as the worlds they came from were apparently very similar. He was also _like_ Riku…similar in a way he found very hard to explain.

Of course, Mickey had made easy work of that part. Sensing Riku's hesitation toward the other boy prompted the king to tell him. _"He's dark, isn't he? Dark and honorable…Just like you, Riku."_

Just like him…

The dark-haired boy suddenly stirred, navy blue eyes fluttering open as though sensing the other boy's watchful eyes. Riku stiffened just a little eyes their eyes met, before Kouichi sat up with a very small yawn.

"Riku…kun?" He sat up, rubbing one eye semi-sleepily. "Is there something wrong?"

Riku relaxed with a sigh. "Nothing. Go back to sleep."

Kouichi blinked at him a moment, turning his head in an owlishly-adorable fashion. Instead of doing as Riku had asked, he suddenly picked himself off the ground, taking the blanket-cloak and his own tall staff-weapon with him, and came to sit beside the silver haired boy.

"There's something bothering you." He said simply, turning his head up to the much taller Riku. "What is it?"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

"I don't know." Kouichi smiled. "I guess it's just a feeling."

"A feeling, huh?" Riku smirked good-naturedly. "So, do you get feelings like this often?"

Kouichi rolled his eyes softly. "It's only with certain people."

"Like me?"

"Like you." A slightly sad grin flashed across the dark-haired boy's face. "And my brother. Especially my brother."

His words slipped away into the wind. Dark blue eyes dropped down, their gaze radiating feelings of loneliness and depression. Riku's face softened with a sympathetic gaze. "…You miss him, don't you?"

At Kouichi's confused look, he elaborated. "Your brother. You do miss him, right?"

"…Yeah, some." Kouichi's eyes closed contemplatively, a hand coming to rest over his own heart. "But…I'm not worried. We've been separated before…I know we'll find each other again. And the others, too."

Riku grinned slightly, shaking his head. Part of him was surprised his companion could be so optimistic. Kouichi had been almost deathly ill when they found him, he had only completely recovered a few nights before, and he still had no earthly idea how he wound up in the Darkness; yet, he persisted to keep a bright outlook on their whole situation.

"Riku-kun? Are you cold?"

The silver-haired boy snapped out of his thoughts, looking down at the other boy in surprise. Kouichi motioned with the black cloth he'd been covering himself with. "We can share, you know. You did give me your blanket."

"…I'm fine." Riku shrugged, brushing his bangs back with one hand.

"Are you sure? You look like you're shivering." Riku looked down at himself and found that, yes, his arms were shaking ever so slightly. He flushed just a little…showing weakness was a bit of an embarrassment.

Kouichi, on the other hand, just smiled and spread the blanket over them both. Of course, it really wasn't meant for more than one person, so they had to get much closer to one another. The shoulder-to-shoulder contact actually increased the warmth, so it was…nice, in a way.

Riku sighed softly, turning his head up to look at the dark stars above them. They didn't shine the way the ones at home did. Actually, they were so dark you would miss them with normal eyes of the light. But Riku's eyes weren't normal anymore…

"They're interesting, aren't they?"

Riku jumped slightly. Kouichi's comment had been soft, almost a whisper, his eyes turned up to the stars as well. The dark-haired boy took a deep breath, his exhale showing in the cold air.

"It was almost Tanabata back home…The night I…showed up" He smiled at his companion warmly. "It's a star festival. Ties in with an old legend."

"Is that so?" Riku smirked good-naturedly, turning his pale blue eyes up to the stars. "So…You can see them too, huh?"

"Yeah." Kouichi nodded slowly.

Riku muffled an only slightly half-hearted laugh. "It's funny…I thought I was the only one." He sighed, shaking his head. "The King…Mickey…can't see them. They're too dark for him."

"Really?" Kouichi blinked, looking surprised. "Hm…That's interesting. I kinda got the impression that he could see everything."

"You'd think that, huh?" Riku laughed softly, shaking his head. "The way he talks…But he can't see them the way we do."

Kouichi nodded slowly, closing his eyes. For a long moment there was silence as the two looked up at the black stars. Then, almost suddenly, Kouichi's head bobbed for just a moment until it dropped onto Riku's shoulder.

The silver-haired boy jumped half a foot, then realized that his friend was asleep.

Riku had to smile, watching the boy sleep. Moving would wake him up, and that would just be a shame. He sighed, shaking his head ever the slightest, then settled back in for the night. They needed all the rest they could get, after all.

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Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside 1: Night In the Darkness…End


	2. Promise of a Paopu

By the way…I HAVE warned you about the Kouichi/Riku shonen-ai hints, and I'm doing it here again. There will be brotherly-affection things mentioned, but these are mostly friendship-and-more scenes between our two favorite Denizens of the Dark. If you don't like it, don't read it, dummy! Having several homosexual friends, I don't take well to gay-bashings, especially after multiple warnings, so just don't say anything if you don't like it. (glaring at one particular reviewer…you know who you are)

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination.

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Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside

Chapter 2: Promise of a Paopu

Kouichi blinked up into the dark branches of the leafy, jungle-like tree for just a moment, then took the dark staff he'd carried since arriving here and poked the purplish blob hanging from the thin stem. "You think these are eatable?"

"Beats me." Riku sighed, pinching a vaguely-carrot-like vegetable growing out of the ground. It looked like a very unappetizing cross between a potato and an old carrot. A really old carrot. "The Heartless in this dimension have to eat something…right?"

"I guess…" Kouichi groaned softly at the stench of a punctured fruit that lay on the ground. "But do we really want to eat Heartless-chow?"

"Good point."

In perfect unison, both boys sighed. For the past couple of months, Kouichi had tended to the fire while Riku and Mickey went looking for food, but once the dark-haired boy was strong enough to defend himself without help, it had seamed only fair to draw straws for their nightly duties. That is, until they got into the trees and realized that neither of the teens had any idea which foods were eatable and which would kill them at first bite.

"We could always get a little of everything." Kouichi volunteered. "And have Mickey-san help us sort it out."

Riku shook his head. He didn't really understand, even though Kouichi had quite kindly explained it to him, why the other teen couldn't just call people by their names. He had added the _-san_ ending to Mickey's name since the day they had met, but for several weeks he had called the silver-haired boy Riku-_sempai_ before switching to a simple _-kun_. Kouichi said it had something to do with the culture of the world he came from, but Riku didn't really understand it.

"Unless, of course…They've got poison in the skins and we'll swell up like balloons if we touch them."

"That would be unfortunate." Kouichi allowed, sighing again as his friend straightened.

Riku sighed, stretching his shoulder, then paused when something caught his eye. Something somewhat familiar. "Hey…Lookit that."

Kouichi turned slightly in the way his friend was pointing. About twenty feet away was a very large tree, one that would have been easily over twelve feet tall had it been growing straight. As it was, it grew in an almost horizontal pattern, sticking out over the outcrop of a small hill like a mast's head. It looked vaguely like a palm tree, except that the trunk was coal-ash black and its leaves were a wild blood red.

Riku was pointing to the large fruits sticking out of the red leaves. They were star-shaped and a kind of plum color, a very dark purple. In truth, it was one of the strangest things the boys had ever seen, and that was saying something.

"Well, these are…interesting." Kouichi muttered as they made their way over. He took one into his hand without removing it from the tree, running his fingers over it contemplatively.

"Yeah…" Riku's eye got a kind of faraway look in them, and his voice had gotten a bit light-headed.

Kouichi gave his friend a strange look. "Riku-kun? Is something wrong?"

The silver-haired figure shook himself. "Ah…It's nothing, really. I was just…thinking."

Kouichi let him stew on it a moment, keeping his face politely impassive and going back to examining the fruit carefully. It didn't take long before this was rewarded by the slightly-older boy's explanation. "It…looks like something that grew…on our island."

Kouichi's ears perked slightly in curiosity. "Really? The world you grew up in?"

"Yeah…" Riku looked up at the fruits contemplatively. "It was called a Paopu fruit. It looked just like this, except it was yellow."

"That's unusual." Kouichi mentioned, raising an eyebrow. "We've never found anything that looked like it came from our worlds before, have we?"

"Not that I know of." Riku looked up at one of the fruits, his hand still on the Soul Stealer's hilt, then broke into a laughing smile. "You know…there was a legend that went with the Paopu. Something the kids used to play with."

"What's that?"

Riku smiled, reaching up to take one of the fruits in his hand and pluck it deftly from the branch. "The legend was that if you shared a single Paopu with someone you really cared for, it would bind the two destinies together forever."

He laughed suddenly, a low, joyful chuckling sound. Kouichi turned to him with a slightly confused smile. "What? What is it?"

"Oh, just a flashback." Riku shook his head jollily, closing his eyes in wake of the wide smile on his lips. "I remember…Just before I left the island, I was teasing Sora about his crush on Kairi…The girl we hung out with."

Kouichi nodded in understanding, motioning for him to continue, which he did. "Anyway…He and I were arguing again, over the raft we'd made. Over the name. So we had a race, like we always did when we argued. And I told him that whoever won got to share a Paopu with Kairi. The look he got was priceless!"

"That's kinda mean." Kouichi said softly, though he was still smiling. "Didn't you like Kairi, too?"

"Nah…" Riku's face relaxed slightly as he opened his eyes again. "She was our friend, and the reason I thought about going to other worlds…but I didn't like her in that way. She was Sora's girl, through and through, even if he didn't have the sense to realize it."

Kouichi shook his head. He was getting to know this as 'Typical Riku'. "So…Who won?"

"Hm?"

"The race. Who won?"

"Me." Riku's grin widened even more. "You should've seen _that_ look of his, too, especially when I told him it was a joke. Priceless, simply priceless."

Kouichi couldn't help himself. He chuckled softly, shaking his head in a 'tut-tut, bad boy'-mothering manner, his shaggy, dark hair blowing back slightly in the wind. He reached out and took the strange purple fruit out of Riku's hand. The silver-haired boy, who had almost forgotten he was holding it, glanced at his companion in confusion.

Kouichi didn't pay him any mind, taking the odd produce in both hands and deftly pulling it into two pieces. He held one out to Riku. "Wanna try it?"

"Huh?" Riku raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback.

"It's the first thing we've found that looks eatable." Kouichi shrugged, still holding out half of the strange fruit. "We might as well see what it tastes like. Same time?"

Riku's eyebrow raised a bit, but took the piece offered to him. It was warm and juicy, with a very tangy, almost inviting smell. He sniffed it once, then glanced at Kouichi. "On three?"

The dark haired boy nodded, lifting his own half. "One…"

"Two…" Riku added, bringing the fruit to his lips as they both took a deep breath.

_"Three!"_

With the close of their simultaneous command, the two boys bit down on the soft, gooey flesh of the fruit. The juice squirted into their mouths, filling their senses with a wonderfully sickening sweet-yet-sharp flavor that didn't quite remind them of anything they'd ever tasted, but was somehow pleasantly filling all the same. They swallowed at almost the same time as well, enjoying the cool, refreshing feeling as it ran down their throats easily.

For a moment, they just glanced at each other. Then Riku spoke. "So…Feel anything?"

"Nope. You?"

"Nothing." Riku sighed and smirked. "Guess it's safe then, huh?"

"Guess so."

Riku glanced up into the tree, taking another bite of his half of the fruit. "There aren't too many of them. Looks like three more that might be ripe…I think."

"That'll do it. One each." Kouichi nodded, reaching up to pluck another one, then settled down to take a small nibble of his own half. "Think Mickey'll mind having one fruit for dinner?"

"Nah. He's pretty easy going about this kind of thing." Riku finished off his part of the first fruit, pulling out the Soul Stealer to cut a stubborn one loose. "Besides, if he did mind he'd have taught us what to get."

Kouichi couldn't help but lick his fingers a little, getting the last bit of juice from his now-eaten half. Taking his staff in one hand and the whole fruit in the other, he followed behind Riku as they made their way back with their 'spoils'.

And somewhere above them, the darkened stars winked into existence as though smiling at each other.

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TBC…

Riku doesn't understand the endings, but I do. _-San_ is the equivalent of 'Mr.' or 'Mrs.' _-Kun _is what you call young boys (and sometimes young girls with more boy-like names like Tohru or Botan) who are your friends. _-Sempai _is an ending or a name by itself for upperclassmen, superiors or older co-workers. Kouichi called Riku _sempai _at first because they're two years apart, but started calling him Riku-_kun_ when he got to know him as a friend.


	3. Web of Life

ARGH…I am so sorry! I didn't mean to leave this story out for three months, I swear! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please forgive me!

Just to remind you, these chapters update in a certain time with the original _Kingdom of the Elemental Hearts_ fic. It averages one Inside/Outside chapter per world of KoEH, which average about two chapters each. So, every two or three chapters of KoEH is equivalent to one chapter of this. Get it?

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination._

**Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside**

**Chapter 3: Chain of Life**

"Keep running!" Mickey shouted to his companions, racing along the black cobblestone streets.

"You don't have to tell us twice!" Riku responded. He clutched the Soul Stealer in one hand, dragging Kouichi by the wrist with the other. The dark-haired boy was hanging onto his Staff tightly, occasionally risking a backward glance at the mob of Neo-Shadow Heartless racing after them.

"They're gaining!" He called in warning.

Riku hissed softly as they ran. "This is no good…"

Kouichi scrambled a bit, slipping on the cobbled streets but managing to catch up with Riku a bit better than before. "What do we do now, Riku-kun?"

The silver-haired boy hissed softly and increased his grip on the younger boy's arm. Just ahead of them, Mickey's long strides bounced and bounded along the cobbled streets in his normal cartoonish manner.

"Hang tight boys!" The King called back, turning his head for only a quick moment. "I've got an idea, just follow me!"

"Right!" Riku nodded and followed him down the long, dark street and sudden right turn. Almost as soon as they were around the corner, Mickey took a running leap through an open doorway. The boys stumbled but managed to do the same, Riku seizing Kouichi with both hands and dragging him to do so.

The three pressed against the wall near the door, counting their shallow breaths carefully, hesitantly. Mickey was pressed flat, his hands spread wide as he stared into space. Riku was turned slightly, his blue eyes locked on the door, right hand curled around the hilt of the Soul Stealer. His left around was around Kouichi's shoulder, the smaller boy having stumbled right into his grasp and was now lying against Riku's chest, gripping his Staff in one hand and the older boy's clothing in the other, his eyes locked in the same direction.

There was a long while of noise, chattering and footsteps as the mob of Heartless raced by, then a few quiet squeaks as the stragglers hopped after them. Then there was silence.

The three travelers let out their breath all at once, relaxing their tense bodies. Riku's arms fell loosely to his sides in considerable relief. "Everybody okay?"

"Y-Yeah." Kouichi sighed as he backed away, happy that it was too dark for the other boy to see the light blush on his cheeks.

Mickey grinned broadly. "Right as rain!"

Riku smiled, but before he or the others could say anything else a new voice spoke in a low, slow, feminine chuckle: "How nice to hear. It would be a terrible shame for my dear guests to have injured themselves on the doorstep."

All three jumped and were instantly in a well-practiced defensive position…Mickey bearing his Keyblade in front as Riku gripped the Soul Stealer inches behind the golden key. Kouichi held the Staff at a ready position and slide back to a cautious position behind Riku.

The laughter increased mysteriously as its owner stepped from the darkest shadows of the 'shop'. It was an old woman, smaller than Mickey thought that might have been because she was hunched over, wrapped in a long black cloak.

"Ah." She sighed, shuffling close to Mickey and presenting what could have been a bow. "A pleasure to finally meet your, your Majesty."

Kouichi drew in a sharp breath, tensing at the same moment as Riku. The three had been very careful to keep Mickey's true identity a secret, to avoid detection from exceptionally villainous parties.

Mickey seamed edgy as well. "Have we…met?"

"Indeed not." The woman chuckled. "But I do know of you: His Royal Majesty King Mickey of the Kingdom of Disney, Lord of Disney Castle."

"How did you…?" Riku couldn't finish his exclamation, the words dying in his mouth, so he tried again. "How do you know that?"

"I Know," The woman looked up at him with icy blue eyes and a playful smile. "And I know also of you, Riku the Earthbound, Possessor of the Soul Stealer, who hails from Destiny Islands.

"And this gentle one," she craned her head slightly to get a look of the final traveler, "must be Kimura Kouichi of Shibuya, Warrior of Darkness and Wielder of the Gravigra Bow."

Kouichi stared at her blankly. He'd told Riku and Mickey of his and his friend's previous adventure, naturally enough, but no one had ever addressed him by Lowemon's title before. "Who…Who are you?"

The old woman smiled at him mysteriously. "Just your everyday fortune teller."

"Fortuneteller?"

Riku narrowed his eyes. "Are you a Heartless?"

"No, not I." Laughed the woman, shuffling back across the shop. "I am just a humble purveyor of information for lonely travelers."

"I get it." Mickey spoke up suddenly, his round ears twitching in interest. "You got stuck here like us, but decided not to fight it. I bet when a Heartless comes in here, you pretend to be one of them, right?"

The woman nodded. "Ever the clever one, Your Majesty."

"But a fortune teller?" Kouichi cocked his head in confusion. He'd been under the impression that soothsayers only acquired steady income during festivals and New Year's.

"One must use one's own resources." Said the woman, settling into a nice-looking, though squatted, chair. "As you have seen, I have always had a talent for Knowing."

"Yeah, but how?" Riku frowned skeptically. "What kind of spies have you got following us?"

The woman looked at him. "You doubt?"

The silver-haired boy crossed his arms. "I don't believe in psychics."

Instead of arguing, the old woman lifted her hand and grasped thin air as though holding an imaginary guide wire. Then she pulled it.

"Ow!"

Riku stumbled forward several feet, hands flying up to his chest. Kouichi and Mickey were instantly on alert. "What's wrong?"

The silver-haired boy straightened, glaring at the woman. "What did you do?"

The woman laughed, as though enjoying a very good joke. "I merely gave this…" She held up her grasped, empty hands. "a short, harmless tug. You can't see it, of course. It's a special talent of mine, seeing the Chains."

"The what?" Kouichi asked.

"The Chains of _Inga_, my dear boy." Smiled the fortune-teller. "Of _fate_. The chains which bind all living creatures to the whims of Destiny. It trails and winds throughout space and time, leading those it binds along their destined paths."

"And you can see them?" Kouichi was rather interested, knelling near the woman, even as Riku rolled his eyes in disbelief.

"Indeed." The woman smiled. "And more."

"More what?" Asked Mickey.

The woman's eyes glistened mysteriously. "I see the Web."

"Web?" Both Mickey and Kouichi blinked.

"The Web of Life."

"And that is…?" Riku prompted.

The old fortuneteller didn't respond for a while. She reached into a bag by her side and drew out a long, coiled pipe that reminded Riku of a large blue caterpillar he'd met following Sora's trail to Wonderland. Producing a match, she lit it smartly and took a long, deep puff. When she'd drawn in so much that it seamed her little body might burst, she suddenly exhaled and filled the tiny shop with thick purple smoke.

"Look."

The three coughed against the heavy cover of smog, squinting their eyes from the burning foreign substance. However, their optic orbs widened in surprise as the smoke cleared just a bit, staring in shock at what they saw.

Dozens of wire-thin strings filled the tiny hollow, spiking through the walls and ceiling and floor without abandon in a rainbow of beautiful colors. If one's eye was so sharp as to trace them back to their source, one would find that each and every wire stemmed from one of the beings in the room, appearing suddenly around their fingers in dozens of loops and ties.

"What in the world…?" Riku breathed, spreading his hand to stare at his dozens of strings.

"They're amazing." Mickey breathed.

"But what are they?" Asked Kouichi.

Yet again, the woman in front of them chuckled lightly. "This is the Web, my dears." She said softly. "Each thread is what connects you to the people who have existed in your life, those you have met or spoken with, anyone who has given you even a shred of lasting memory. When new acquaintances are made new strings are formed. All life in the worlds is bound within the Web."

The three travelers were stunned speechless, staring at the Web around them. "Go on." Urged the woman. "The spell will not last long. Choose a string and see who it connects your heart to."

Kouichi reached out with his left hand to grasp a blue string on his right pointer finger. The image of a large, smiling boy in blue jumped into his mind and he laughed. "Junpei!"

Mickey chose a lilac thread on his left thumb and smiled as well. "Well, golly! It's Miss Daisy!"

Riku seized a black one on his left middle finger and frowned. Kouichi looked at him worriedly. "Riku-kun?"

The silver-haired teen glanced at him and sighed. "…Hook. It's Hook. One of the ones who worked with Maleficent."

"Yes." The old woman nodded with a light breath. "The Web is the connection in all relationships, the good…and the bad."

Riku frowned and traced his eyes over his hands again. He found himself drawn to the only thread attached to his right pinky, slightly thicker than the others and a dark, beautiful shade of red. "Let's see who this is."

He reached with his left hand and pulled lightly. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing, no image, no clip, not even a sound. He tried again, harder this time.

And Kouichi said, "Ow."

Riku stopped, tracing the red string only a few feet to find it connected to the other boy's left pinky. Kouichi followed his gaze even as the optical spell began to fade, staring at it a long while until he looked back up at his friend.

Riku grinned. "Everyone's connected, right?"

"Y-Yeah." Inexplicably, the dark-haired boy's cheeks held a light rose as the strings faded from sight. "Connected."

The old fortune teller smiled to herself wirily, taking another puff of her pipe. "Now then," she said, her voice suddenly stern. "It's about time you three got going."

"What, already?" Mickey turned to her. "But why?"

"A visitor is coming. Someone you three would wish very much not to meet."

Riku stiffened all over. "Heartless." He hissed. "I can smell them."

Kouichi nodded in agreement, making a face at the light sour taste that entered his mouth every time the Heartless were near. "They're coming."

"Indeed." The old woman moved her chair to the side, revealing what appeared to be a secret passage leading down into the ground. "Take this. The path should take you safely out of the city. After that, I'm afraid you're on your own."

With the sounds and smells of Heartless growing ever closer, the three travelers didn't have time to think as they scrambled into the small passage. Kouichi paused a moment to bow to the old woman. "What you, Obaa-sama."

"You're welcome." Said the woman, waving them on. "And good luck, dear."

Kouichi smiled at her warmly, them lifted the Staff into his grip and took off after his friends.

_**TBC…**_

Neo-Shadow Heartless are like upgraded versions of the original-flavored 'Shadow' Heartless. They're much larger, with long antenna, arms and legs, and they're strong, not to mention annoyingly fast.

'Riku' in Kanji means 'earth'. Adversely, Sora's name means 'sky' or 'fly'. So, instead of a title or last name, I decided to call them 'Riku the Earthbound' and 'Sora the Skyreacher', respectively.

Riku must have visited all the worlds Sora did, because he was able to go through all of them in _Chain of Memories_.

If you don't know why Kouichi's so embarrassed, go look for the references to a red string in 'Yu Yu Hakusho' (Yukina Saga) and 'Excel Saga' (Ep. 5), not to mention a random episode of 'Tenchi in Tokyo'.

Riku gets the ability to smell darkness in Chain of Memories, so I added it here. Kouichi's developing the same sense, though it is a bit different.

'Obaa-sama' - Extremely respectful form of 'Grandmother'. Can be used to address old women, or used as an insult, depending on the context.


	4. Dream a Little Dream

This chapter is short and seems relatively pointless, but it sets up some stuff for later on…particularly in the main _Kingdom of the Elemental Hearts_. In other words, don't skip this one just because it's short. It has some important character development.

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination._

**Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside**

**Chapter 4: Dream A Little Dream**

It's not often you hear laughter in the Realm of Darkness.

Actually, such an event is extremely rare, but often extremely pleasant, a bit like finding a diamond ring as the prize in your cereal box. These sounds of light and joy drive away the Heartless, so for several meters around whatever event might cause the mirth there is not a sign of the wiggling, heart-thieving pests.

Riku and Kouichi didn't know that, but the King did, so he was encouraging their joint laughter with a series of hilarious escapades, circa Disney Castle.

"And then, WHOOM! Donald went flying right through the library doors and bowled down half of the broom-sweepers as they were comin' back from their chores!" The mouse giggle and splayed out his white-gloved hands to demonstrate. "I guess that's what he gets for tryin' out spells without reading the book first, eh?"

Kouichi giggled, one hand moving to cover his mouth in an almost feminine manner, as Riku tossed his head back with a hearty laugh. Mickey let a wide grin spread over his own features let his own merry laughter float over the dark road.

"Well, enough about me!" Mickey bounced a few steps ahead of his companions and turned to face them, waiting patiently for them to catch up. "Let's hear more about you two, ne?"

"Like what?" Riku shrugged. "I don't have anything to tell, you probably know more about me than I do."

Kouichi gave a quietly nod, agreeing with Riku's statement. "I'm not sure I have anything interesting to say, either."

"Of course you do!" Mickey grinned wider, obviously planning this conversation long before he had brought the subject had been brought up. "You've said a lot about your past, but I haven't heard a lick about your futures yet."

"Futures?" Both boys chorused, and glanced at each other in confusion.

"Sure!" Mickey laughed, rocking back on his heels. "I may not look it, but I'm kinda an old fogey. You're both young, you've got your whole lives ahead of you. Tell me what you want to do with it. Tell me about your dreams!"

Riku and Kouichi glanced at each other again. The younger boy shifted shyly and motioned with his free hand, the other still wrapped protectively around his Staff, for the silver-haired young man to go first.

Riku sighed and turned his blue eyes up to the grayish sky with a contemplative sigh. He took a moment to think, contemplating his options. What did he want? What did he really…really want?

"I guess…I'd like to get home." He said after a long while, his eyes glazing over slightly. Then he laughed. "Boy, never thought I'd say that…"

"I don't get it." Kouichi blinked and turned his head to one side in confusion. Riku muffled a grin at how cute the dark-haired boy could be sometimes.

The silver-haired boy just smirked and pushed his hands into his pockets. "When I was on the Island, all I wanted to do was get off. Sora, Kairi and me, we were gonna take this raft…just a makeshift plank of wood with some food and what could have been sails…and search out other worlds. Stupid, right?"

Kouichi and Mickey shook their heads. Riku gave them both an odd look, but went back to explanation.

"But it's weird now. Now that I'm in other worlds, out by myself…I just want to get back." He sighed, bringing his eyes down and shaking his head. "No matter what I do, I'm hollowing at the moon. Guess that just shows how screwed up I am."

There was a moment of contemplative silence between them, then Kouichi spoke in a soft, even voice. "I don't think so."

Riku turned his eyes back to the smaller boy, a bit surprised. Kouichi smiled up at him. "Sometimes it takes a while to work out what your heart really wants. What you want as a kid is never the same as what you want when you grow up. It just takes time to know where you belong."

His blue eyes dropped just a little to hide behind sparse bangs shyly. "Don't you…think?"

Riku looked at him a moment, then grinned. "Yeah. I think you're right."

Kouichi's smile widened a bit. Mickey grinned broadly and nodded, then turned to the dark-haired boy. "What about you, Kouichi? Is there anything you've always wanted?"

The boy hesitated, and a cautious expression flickered over his face. A few fingers made their way to rest on his lips contemplatively, a distance look in his navy blue eyes. "Like…anything?"

"Anything at all!" Mickey nodded, giving the boy a gentle nudge. "Come on, Kouichi, I know you've got something. Everyone has a dream!"

Riku's icy blue eyes glanced at his companions with an unreadable expression. At least, he hoped it was unreadable, as he didn't really want either of his friend to know exactly how curious he was about Kouichi's dream. Maybe it was something he needed help with, something Riku could do to assist. After all, Kouichi was a very modest boy. It wasn't like he'd wish for anything spectacular…

Kouichi hesitated a moment, gripping the Staff in his hands a bit more tightly before he found the voice to answer. "I…I want to be…strong."

Whatever it was Riku and Mickey had been expecting, that wasn't it, and it took a long moment of shocked silence between them before they found the voice to speak. "What was that?"

Kouichi shifted hesitantly, wringing the Staff between his hands in a very nervous manner. "I…I want to be strong." He repeated, glancing to the ground shyly. "Strong enough that people…don't have to protect me."

"Really?" Riku cocked his head to one side in mild confusion. "What do you mean?"

Kouichi hesitated again, as though uncertain of what he was saying himself. Then he took a deep breath and spoke, very softly.

"Ever since I was a kid," he sighed heavily, gazing at an indeterminate point on the ground, somewhere beyond his moving toes. "Someone's always had to…watch out for me. My mother and grandmother…my brother…now you guys."

He glanced up at Riku and shrugged, somewhat guiltily. Riku scowled. He'd told the younger boy over and over again that he and Mickey were more than happy to help him through the Worlds of Darkness, but Kouichi still seemed to consider his own presence a burden to them.

"I guess…there's a part of me that's always wanted to get out of that." The dark-haired boy continued, biting his lip as his voice gained more confidence. "I…I want to be strong enough that nobody has to worry about me anymore. I want to be able to…protect…the people I care about…instead of the other way around."

He fell silent again, a light blush painting his cheeks. They were going to laugh at him, he thought, it was stupid to think that someone as pathetic as him could protect anyone…

As though reading his mind's troubled thoughts, Mickey suddenly smiled up at the dark-haired boy brightly. Gloved hands reached up to pat the other's arm in a comforting manner as a light chuckle fell from his lips. "You're a good kid."

Kouichi's eyes widened in surprise at the strange statement, but Riku just grinned.

"What he means is…" The silver-haired boy leaned over to put his hand on Kouichi's shoulder, "you really want to help people. Not a lot of people do that, you know.

"So you…" Kouichi hesitated a moment, unsure. "You don't think it's…stupid?"

Mickey just laughed. "Dreams can never be stupid, kiddo. They're your dreams! Even if nobody else understands them, you can never have a stupid dream."

Riku nodded in junction with the mouse-king's response. A light flush colored Kouichi's pale cheeks and he looked down, a soft smile on his lips. "Gee…Thanks, guys."

"In fact, I'll give you a hand!" Mickey piped, unable to hide a rather excited sparkle. "With a couple of free lessons! How'd you like to learn a little magic, Disney Castle-style?"

Kouichi jerked slightly, startled by the sudden offer. "Do you…do you really mean it, Mickey-san?"

"Sure I do!" Mickey grinned broadly and offered up his hand. "I bet you'll get it down real quick! You look like a fast study to me."

"Wow…" Kouichi reached out hesitantly and shook the gloved hand. "That'd really be great. That is, if it really isn't any trouble…"

"No trouble at all!" Mickey nodded brightly and moved forward down the street, scouting ahead. "We'll start tonight! But first we gotta find a place to camp, before it gets too dark to see. Come on, boys, get a move on!"

He burst into a run. Riku's smirk widened across his face and he reached back to grab Kouichi's arm. "Come on. We don't want to let him beat us, now do we?"

The younger boy smiled and shook his head. Another round of laughter and giggles echoed over the dark hills as the three travelers chased after one another, scrambling for food and supplies and a good, defensible position. The Heartless wouldn't come near them tonight. That was a future they could be sure of.

_**TBC…**_

Ah, Disney-esque sappiness. You had to have some of it, you know, after all this is a Disney game. Besides, I just can't write Mickey being so…serious…He just doesn't fit in that idea. Which, of course, throws off the serious-Riku, shy-Kouichi scenes just a bit…


	5. Strength Within

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination._

**Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside**

**Chapter 5: Strength Within**

"Ready?" Mickey asked kindly, setting up a small stack of wood in the center of a circle of rocks. "Just concentrate your power around you and focus on the spell."

Kouichi licked his lips and held the staff out at arm's length, tapping the top of the wood. "…Fira."

A blue-white burst of flame shot from the other end of the staff, and almost instantly the wood was ablaze. The blue color, fiercely hot, faded quickly as the wood became its fuel, but a crackling serge of heat ripple over their little camp. Kouichi, not really prepared for the force of the blast, was knocked backward, and Riku jumped in to steady him from behind.

"Easy there." The silver-haired boy grinned. Kouichi looked up at him with a thankful expression.

Mickey clapped with his gloved hands, his face scrunching up a bit in a wide, encouraging smile. "See? I told you you'd get it!"

Kouichi hoisted himself back into a firm standing position with Riku helping him from behind. There was a concerned expression on his face now. "But Mickey, it was… different…than yours. Weird."

"It's not weird." Mickey assured him, picking up some of the slightly-sharpened sticks he'd collected and stabbing something that looked like a squashed rutabaga on the end of each one, setting them up near the fire to roast. "Sometimes the magic changes slightly from person to person. Your Fire magic is the same as Riku's here."

"Really?" Kouichi blinked. He'd never actually seen Riku use magic, unless his unusual speed was created magically. Riku was strikingly fast, able to dart from one place to another with such shocking speed that it was nearly impossible for Kouichi's eyes to follow.

Riku seemed interested as well. "The Dark Firaga?"

"Not quite that yet, but it's close." Mickey nodded, turning one of the sticks a bit to expose the other side of the vegetable to the heat. "And I bet it'll evolve faster than you think. Kouichi's got a lot of potential in him."

Kouichi glanced at the mouse-king with a mild shrug and sat beside the fire, poking at the wood with a thin stick to stir up the embers. In truth, he didn't think he had what Mickey thought he had. It had taken him over a week to figure out the simplest spell Mickey had given him, and even then he'd managed to goof it up some how. It just wasn't working out for him, and those dreams weren't helping much.

Riku noticed the distant look in his friend's dark eyes and frowned a bit. "Hey, Kouichi, what's up?" He finally asked. "Is something bothering you?"

The dark-haired boy was silent for a long while, then a soft word escaped his lips. "Kai…ri…"

"Say what?" Riku jerked back at the familiar name.

Kouichi pulled his legs up and look down at his feet. "I've been having this… really weird…dream lately. It's always the same girl…red hair, blue eyes…she said her name was…Kairi."

Riku and Mickey glanced at each other, which did not go unnoticed by the second boy, but he said nothing as he looked up at them. "Riku…wasn't Kairi the name of your friend? The girl you knew…with Sora?"

"Yeah…" Riku put a hand to his chin in contemplation. "You described her spot-on, too. You sure you haven't met her before?"

"Positive." Kouichi shrugged. "I've never been away from Shibuya before, and she never came there."

Mickey crossed his arms over his chest with a thoughtful 'hm'. "Very strange," he muttered. "I wonder if…"

Before the thought could quite make its way from his mind to the air, a rustling _snap_ jolted them all out of their thoughts. Riku took in a deep breath through his nose and shot to his feet, whipping out the Soul Stealer from its place.

"What is it?" Mickey asked, leaping to his feet.

"Heartless!" Kouichi gasped, jumping up and hoisting the Staff into his grasp. "I can taste it…they're all around us!"

"We're surrounded." Riku cursed lightly. "They must've snuck up, the dirty little bastards…"

The rustling grew louder and the snapping of branches closer. The three friends backed up against one another, keeping at least one eye out in every direction they could, careful to stay in the fire's softly-glowing, nearly-smothered light. Their eyes, now well trained to the darkness and the difference between shadows and Shadows, focused intently on the wiggling movements of the bug-like creatures, squirming up through the depths of the dark forest.

The group backed up a bit more. Kouichi bit his lip. "There's so many…"

"No getting away now." Mickey commented seriously.

"He's right." Riku muttered to Kouichi. "We've gotta fight 'em. Right?"

Kouichi nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess…"

"Then don't back down!" Mickey called, and leapt out into the circle of Heartless with his Keyblade ready in his grip. Riku shot off in another direction, raising the Soul Stealer for attack as the enemies rushed forward all at once.

A Shadow leapt at Kouichi, who raised the Staff with both hands to block its arc and slam it into the ground. More and more Shadows jumped into the attack. Kouichi jumped backwards, avoiding the flames, and pushed Lowemon's instincts in front of his own, trying to remember exactly how the staff had moved for him when he'd been the Warrior of Darkness himself.

Mickey dodged around quickly and easily, slamming his Keyblade into the Shadows, who disappeared one after another with bursts of smoke and white-yellow stars. Riku was using his speed to its best advantage, running rings around the Heartless and blowing them away with the Soul Stealer without much visible effort.

But it seemed, at least to Kouichi's eyes, that the more Heartless they struck down, the more popped up in their place. It wasn't like he could count all of them, trying to bash and block with his protective but not exactly active weapon, but they'd gone through a decent number already. His arm muscles were already starting to ache, and the fire…

The fire was disappearing! It was being trampled!

Kouichi snapped his head around. Their fire, their only bit of light in the World of Darkness on a night like tonight, was being quickly covered by the dust thrown up by the Heartless and the fighters themselves. Its light was fading, the flames were dying, and as it vanished the Heartless were getting more and more numerous, more and more aggressive and bold and…

"Fira!"

A blast of fire burst from the end of the Staff, scattering the Heartless and alighting the fire once again. Kouichi took advantage of this self-given opportunity, dashing forward into the light and planting his feet firmly.

"Fira! Fira!"

The white-blue flames burst out, blasting across the grassless earth and sending the Heartless scattering for cover, screeching all the way. The darkness started to fill with pale flashes of light and the squeals of the dark creatures.

Riku noticed the progress and smirked, sliding up next to the other boy with a light smirk of his own. "Nice job." He grinned, "Lemme give you a hand. _Firaga!_"

Another burst of flames, much larger and with more super-hot blue than anything else, blasted from the end of the Soul Stealer and into the crowd of Heartless. Mickey dodged in from one side, knocking the bunch of Heartless closer together.

"Alrighty, boys!" He called back in a pipey sort of cheer.

Riku grinned at his friend. "Ready?"

"Sure." Kouichi blinked once, twice, but leveled his staff in the same direction as Riku aimed the Soul Stealer.

"_Fira!"_

"_Firaga!_"

The two balls of flame melded in mid-air, slamming into the batch of Heartless with more force than ever before. Many of the creatures disappeared with a swirl of darkness and smoke, and those few that were left retreated into the shadows with rapid pulses. Riku could have sworn one of them stopped to shake their fist at them angrily as they disappeared.

"All right!" Mickey tossed the Keyblade up and caught it again in a bit of celebration. "Nice going, boys!"

"Hey, I didn't do anything." Riku smirked and motioned to Kouichi. "It was all Kouichi's idea, right, buddy?"

The dark-haired boy nodded somewhat anxiously, then wavered back and forth unsteadily. Riku lunged to support him as the smaller boy dropped forward limply with a mild groan, his dark eyes crossing haphazardly.

"Hey!" Riku exclaimed, his brow furling worriedly. "What's the matter?"

"I don't…know." Kouichi groaned, looking up past his bangs. "I just feel so… tired all of a sudden…"

Mickey came up to the pair and gently brushed the hair out of his eyes to look into them a bit better. "Hm. Looks like you wore out your body, pal. You just overspent your energy a bit."

Riku glanced at the King worriedly. "But he is going to be okay, right?"

"Of course he will." Mickey giggled just a bit. "All he needs is a little rest, that's all."

Kouichi groaned somewhat painfully and tried to take a few steps, but wound up stumbling several feet and lurching back into Riku's grasp. "…Sorry."

"Don't be. You did great." Riku grinned and helped the smaller boy back to his place beside the rekindled campfire. "Just get some rest, okay? We'll wake you when the food's done."

Kouichi dropped into the makeshift sleeping pallet, his legs numb and tingling, unable to hold him up. Mickey grinned as he pulled the cloak-blanket up to tuck it under his chin. "See? I told ya you'd get the hang of it quick."

The dark-haired boy gave a bit of a grin and a tired nod, then closed his eyes and slipped away into sleep.

_**TBC…**_

Okay, I know this one was basically useless. I just had to get it out. I hope you enjoyed it, somewhat, I wanted to show how Kouichi was doing with the magic, and this was really the only way. It came out…kinda awkward…

Yes, I am well aware that 'Fira' is technically a level 2 spell, but casting the spell "Fire" in English doesn't sound near as impressive when you're typing it as when playing the game.


	6. Observations

I know the last couple of chapters have been a bit awkward and useless, but I promise, this one actually has something relatively important to the plot of the main story! This is probably the only case of such a thing, but hopefully it will come out better than the last few chapters have…

The last scene of this was actually supposed to go at the end of the 11th Chapter of the main story, but I moved it over here to be a bit easier on my beta.

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination._

**Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside**

**Chapter 6: Observations**

As a manner of principle, King Mickey was very rarely proud of anything that he did personally. After all, ever since his years traveling the river with his former boss, Captain Pete, and leading all the way to his friendship with the noble yet proud King Ansem the Wise, he had seen time and time again how pride could lead to pain and heartache for oneself and the people one cared for.

However, if there was any part of himself he could be considered satisfied with, it was most definitely his own keen observational skills as to what was happening around him.

Such as when he noticed that his he two traveling companions were beginning to get rather…close…to one another.

It was subtle, at first, as he assumed that all such relationships usually were. Riku spent a lot of his time caring for Kouichi while the younger of the two boys was down with the mysterious illness he'd been suffering from when they found him. The silver-haired boy's basic motives were simple enough - Kouichi had obviously come from the Worlds of Light sometime after the two other members of their group had arrived. This meant that there was a chance, however small or slim, that a Door to the Light was open once again, and that they could find a way home to Sora, Kairi and Minnie…

But when Kouichi had managed enough consciousness to speak with them, he turned out to know even less than they had. All the information he could really give them was that the Heartless were once again seeping into the World of Light…they had destroyed Kouichi's home, Shibuya, and were apparently spreading.

Troubling as this was, there was nothing the three travelers could do that might help or prevent it. But all of them had the same goal - return to the Worlds of Light and reunite with loved ones - so it was only sensible that they travel together to search for the common means to that end.

Kouichi soon proved to have as interesting a past as any of the creatures Mickey had met in his multiple travels throughout the worlds. His home world, a city named 'Shibuya', had a separate half known as the 'Digital World' available to only a select few 'Chosen'. Mickey recognized this sort of connection as being similar to another world he'd visited quite some time before this whole fiasco had begun - different names, but the same structure, a group of children able to access a secret, digitally-based half of their own world, populated by monsters called 'Digimon'.

Kouichi, it turned out, was one of his world's 'Chosen'…one of its protectors, in a way. It certainly seemed so, especially with his visible disappointment at not being able to prevent the destruction of said world by the Heartless.

In the recounting of his own history, Kouichi also proved himself to be a kind and sweet-hearted young man: He rarely, if ever, thought of his own predicament, and instead worried incessantly about his fellow Chosen, his mother and father, and, more than anything, his brother, Kouji.

Riku had sympathy with the other boy in this manner. Sora, always his best friend and constant companion on his home islands, might as well have been his brother, and the separation was painful for him. This was, Mickey suspected, the initial origin of their recent 'closeness'.

Gradually, as time went on, the boys began to get closer and closer, traveling alongside one another, talking late into the night, and volunteering to gather food or work together as they built their camps. And after a while, Mickey's well-trained mind began to hatch a conniving little scheme that his Minnie (famous throughout Disney Castle for her heartfelt attempts to pair off single friends into productive and happy relationships) would have been proud of.

"Kouichi."

Kouichi looked up from his place by the fire, adding a bit more kindling to the small, strong flames. "Yes?"

"Do you mind helping me?" Mickey stumbled through the trees, unable to stand very well under the weight of the bundle of food he carried over his small shoulders. "I think I got a bit much!"

Kouichi jumped up and scrambled over, pausing only to snatch up his obsidian black staff in one hand before he rushed over to the King. The boy took one end of the thin wood that the food was piled on, and the two carried the pile of fruit and veggies to the side of the fire.

"Whew." Mickey plopped down beside the food and fire with a broad smile. "Thanks for your help. Guess I got a little too much, eh?"

"It is a lot." Kouichi nodded, sorting through some of the fruit absently, then smiled. "We'll have plenty of food for a while, won't we?"

Mickey grinned. "You bet'cha."

Kouichi nodded and pulled out a few bluish-green veggies that they had found was better cooked. He speared each one on a sharp stick and buried the end of said stick into the earth close enough to the flame to be cooked.

Mickey decided that this was as good a time as ever to play his hand. "Where's Riku?"

"He went to collect more firewood." Kouichi nodded to the pile of sticks beside their seats. "He noticed we were getting low."

"You didn't go with him?"

Kouichi's cheeks colored just a little in a flattered, flustered sort of blush. "He told me to mind the fire. Make sure it didn't go out."

"I see…" Mickey glanced back into the pile of fruit and left his sentence hanging in a sort of hesitant manner.

Kouichi looked up at him and frowned lightly, worried by the King's tone. "What is it? Should I have gone?"

"Oh no, no, you didn't do anything wrong." Mickey waved his gloved hand comfortingly. "It's just, I'm surprised that Riku insisted on going alone. He hasn't been feeling well lately."

"He hasn't?" Kouichi's voice rose an octave in worry and concern.

"It's nothing to worry about, really." Mickey smiled just a little, though Kouichi couldn't see him. "He's had a bit of a fever, that's all. It happens now and then, he'll be fine in just a bit."

Kouichi let a small whimper slip, one of worry and concern, as a hand rose to his lip in a very uncertain expression. He glanced up, away from the fire, and looked towards the trees with a hesitant gaze.

"But…he's out there on his own."

"He'll be all right." Mickey soothed quietly, patting his arm. "You don't have to worry. He'll be just fine, don't worry."

"But…"

The trees rustled then, something moving close to them. Both figures at the fire stiffened slightly in naturally response, ready as always for an attack, before the bushes parted and a familiar silver-haired figure stepped through with an armful of dark wood.

"Hey Mickey." Riku grinned, dropping the firewood into the pile. "Wow, that's a lot of food you got there. Do we really need that…"

"Riku-kun!"

Riku jerked a bit, somewhat surprised, but he barely had any way to react before Kouichi appeared right in front of him, a concerned expression on his features. Before Riku could quite register what was happening, the dark-haired boy had pressed his hand against Riku's forehead with insistent concern.

"Are you all right?" Kouichi asked, his voice hesitant and worried. "You shouldn't be pushing yourself, Riku-kun!"

"What?" Riku pulled back, pushing the hand down. His pale eyes were wide, and his face a bit flushed in surprise. "What're you talking about? What's going on?"

Kouichi pulled his hand away, but his face was no more less concerned. "You feel warm, Riku-kun. You should sit down."

"What? Warm?" Riku stuttered, but fell back onto the ground. "What's with you? Kouichi, what's going on?"

Kouichi continued to fret, sounding more and more like a worried mother hen. Riku continued to stutter, taken aback, having almost never been fretted over like this even when he had been sick.

Mickey smiled to himself. It may not have been the magical, happily-ever-after ending that Minnie sought after when she played matchmaker with her friends, but he was in no hurry.

After all, they were healthy teenage boys. They could take their time if they wanted to.

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

"_Kouichi…"_

The dark-haired boy suddenly sat up and blinked at the dwindling remains of their smoldering campfire. He blinked at the pale orangish sparks for a moment, wondering what had woken him, then turned his head upwards to gaze at the inky black, strangely-starred sky with dark navy blue eyes.

"…Kouji?" He asked the mournful winds, but there was no response.

One of the other figures in the camp shifted and sat up, his bright silver hair shining in the half-real, half-not moonlight. "What's the matter, Kouichi?" He asked sleepily, rubbing one pale blue eye.

The dark-haired boy smiled at his friend. "It's nothing, Riku-kun. I just…thought I heard something."

"Something like what?" Riku yawned and stretched, moving to sit cross-legged on the ground.

Kouichi leaned back on his arms quietly, looking up at the dark stars with a thoughtful expression. "…My brother. I thought I heard my brother."

"Your brother, huh?"

"Yeah…" Kouichi shook himself and grinned. "Stupid, I know. It was probably just the wind."

"Maybe." Riku turned his icy blue eyes up to the sky, one of his mysterious smiles worming over his face. "Or, maybe, it really was him."

Kouichi snapped his head around, giving his friend a wide-eyed, surprised look. Riku just smiled at him as mysteriously as ever. "Our hearts are connected, right? To the people we care for. And I bet that you and your brother have more of a connection than anybody. I mean, come on, you were together before you were even born."

He paused a moment, as though thinking of something else, but shook himself lightly and continued. "Maybe what you hear just now…really was him. He might have been calling for you with his heart."

"Really?" Kouichi leaned forward. "You think so?"

"I know so." Riku closed his eyes thoughtfully. "It's the same way I hear Sora and Kairi calling me. We're all looking for each other, so I guess normal that we'd call out every now and then. Right?"

Kouichi considered this for only a second before he smiled. "Yeah. You're right."

Riku grinned. "Still, calling back's just gonna confuse him. Let's get some sleep, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

The two boys lay back down, taking care not to wake their third companion as they nestled in. It was cold that night, so the three were sleeping very close to one another in an attempt to keep warm. Bodies moved into warmth without their owner's knowing, and quite soon they had returned to the world of slumber.

Not far away, a figure dressed almost entirely in black watched their little camp with careful, calculating eyes. One outstretched hand held a flat brown picture frame, the cover hanging open so that the picture inside was clearly visible. One of the campers rolled over to face the figure, eyes closed in slumber, face mirroring the two shown in the photo.

The figure smirked as he snapped the photo shut. Stifling a derisive laugh, he turned and disappeared without a sound.

_**TBC…**_


	7. Reflection

If the last chapter didn't make it obvious, _yes_, I am planning on making this into Riku/Kouichi shonen-ai, BUT, before you more conservative types hit the back button, know that it won't get any further than the mild shonen-ai level, i.e., cuddling, blushing and meaningful glances/conversation. You could probably look over it if you wanted to, and you'll probably want to, seeing as this chapter AND the next one have some VERY IMPORTANT main-storyline information in them.

Also, this chapter and the next one take place just after Xantha leaves Myotismon's company at the beginning of the Domino City event, but before the end of Pt. 2. It just seems longer because I'm putting it into two chapters for storytelling purposes.

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination._

**Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside**

**Chapter 7: Reflection**

_He looked around in the shadows, confused. It took him a while until the purple mist with its silvery lining struck him as familiar - this was a dream, in his own familiar dreamscape. This was where he normally saw her…that is, Miss Kairi, Riku's friend._

_But tonight, she wasn't there. As he moved slowly through the darkness around him, he became aware that he was the only one. There was no sigh of anyone else, no Riku, no Kouji, and no sign of Miss Kairi…_

_"Looking for the Princess of Hearts, are you?"_

_He jumped and twisted, his head snapping this way and that in search of the voice, but there was no one there. In fact, it seemed as though he had imagined the voice, until it spoke again._

_"You've never heard that title before? Well, I'm not surprised. Most of the Boys never do. They never understand who the strange girl is that they see in their dreams. Some even go crazy, thinking it's the love of their life, even though they could never pull themselves up to _her _level…"_

_"Who are you?" He demanded. "What do you want? What are you talking about?"_

_"The time is growing closer for you to know." Whispered the voice, and the darkness swirled around him, tightening, pulling him in close as though he was being embraced from behind. "Your Dark Heart is almost refined, nearly complete, ripening like a fruit. And yours is particularly more delicious than those I have set my sights on before…"_

_His breathing grew harsh, and he tried to move, he tried to struggle, but he found he couldn't move. "Let me go."_

_"You can't escape me." Laughed the voice, the hold tightening and drawing him back until he could hardly breathe. "I am always with you, within you, for longer than you know. And I will find you, no matter where you think to go…"_

_He twisted around, but the only thing he could see of his attacker was a blood-red mask…_

Kouichi burst awake, gasping for breath. The gleaming not-light that lit the Worlds of Darkness during its 'days' gleamed into his eyes painfully, and his arms shot up to cover them.

"Easy, there." Riku's voice urged, clapping his younger friend on the shoulder to calm him. "Calm down. It was just a dream."

Kouichi pulled his arms away from his eyes and gave Riku an awkward sort of smile, shrugging. "Sorry. I was just a bit…startled…"

Riku nodded in understanding and pulled himself to his feet, stretching. They were actually in a city for once this time, or rather, a little town that would have been called 'pleasant' had its occupants not been entirely Heartless. The trio of travelers had taken shelter from the rain under the wooden outcrop of an abandoned shop's former display, and had eventually fallen asleep there on the cobblestone streets.

As Kouichi looked around, he realized that their 'trio' had somehow been reduced to a twosome, as their mouse-like King was nowhere to be found. "Where is Mickey-san?"

"Off looking for food or something of the like." Riku shrugged. "Didn't want to wake you, so he just told us to stay here…Keep an eye on each other, watch out for Heartless, the usual stuff."

Kouichi nodded absently. It was true that Mickey had a habit of disappearing for a day or so to scout out their next route or look for information, and he always left 'the boys' behind in a sort of protective, fatherly manner. (Kouichi suspected that he was poking through leads trying to find a Door to the Light and thought the paths in question too dangerous for the boys to follow him) But this was a bit of an odd position to leave them in…

"We're supposed to sit under an old fruit stand for the rest of the day?"

"Of course not." Riku grinned, reaching down to help the dark-haired boy to his feet. "C'mon. I say were look around a bit for ourselves."

Kouichi stumbled to his feet, dragging the Staff along with him as he did. "B-But what about Mickey-san?"

"You know he'll find us." Riku quietly flipped the Soul Stealer into his hand, letting the blade rest at his side somewhat cautiously. "Besides, we need food, for real. Or are you forgetting that we didn't eat last night?"

Kouichi's stomach growled - no, he couldn't forget that little face - and so, gripping the Staff in his hands and pulling the hood of the black cover over his head, he followed Riku out into the city of Heartless…

**( - )**

Mickey dashed through the town's most obscure and questionable parts, pausing only to bring his own golden Keyblade down on the Heartless who were trying to catch him. The route he was taking was dangerous, but it was the only real option now - reaching his destination in time was crucial.

He was going to meet a Nobody - that is, the mind and body remains of someone who had been taken by the Heartless. This Nobody had once been someone he knew, a teenaged boy not much older than Riku who had lived in a small, backwater world on the very edges of the interworldly web. Unfortunately, said world had been descended on by the Heartless a while ago, long enough that Mickey had heard of it just barely before entering the Worlds of Darkness.

Now, however, whatever was left of his old 'friend' had contacted him here and asked to meet, alone. So the King had left his young charges (part of him had to grin at thinking that, but as he was technically the only 'adult' in the group, he felt somewhat responsible for the boys' safety) in the care of each other and set out alone for the final meeting place.

Which turned out to be little more than an abandoned shop, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Even if they were Kings.

Mickey stepped into the small door, pushing aside the meager, raggedy cloth that kept the cold air out of the doorless little shack. Apparently, the shop used to be the home of a fortune teller, as there were many kinds of dark-colored draperies hanging on the walls, a few posters, and a single round table with two chairs. Where there normally would have once been a crystal ball or a Ouji board, a tea set for two had been set out, and where the exotic woman would have set, there was now a boy.

He was older than Mickey remembered him being, but it had been several years since the two had seen each other, and only one since his world had been destroyed. He was now closer in age to Leon or Cloud or one of the other young men living in Hollow Bastion. The boy's appearance had changed as well - when Mickey had met him, he'd sported dark red hair swept up in gentle spikes, deep green eyes, and freckles. Now his hair had turned a sort of sea foam green, his eyes a pale sort of gray, and the freckles were gone. He now wore a white linen shirt with long, white sleeves whose cuffs seemed to have been dipped in ink, underneath a heavy black vest with dark silver lining on the zipper and collar, and loose black pants that flared out around his black boots. He sat cross-legged in the chair, staring dead ahead, and didn't look up when Mickey entered.

"Ah," He said, staring straight at the wall to Mickey's left, "welcome, Your Majesty. It's been so long."

Mickey sighed at the familiar voice. "Osen."

"I prefer the name Xenos now, if you would." The boy motioned to the chair opposite of him. "Please, sit down, and we'll have a spot of tea, the way were used to."

Mickey smiled a bit and put the Keyblade away, moving to hop into the chair, but he remained cautious. He knew very well that Nobodies were not the same as their whole counterparts, and they often had some very, very drastic changes in their personality. Without any personality, heart or guilt, they would focus only on their goals and do anything to reach them.

They were not to be trusted.

"It really has been too long, my old friend." Osen…no, Xenos, poured a steaming cup of hot tea into the free cup and sliding it over to Mickey. "I had hoped that you would contact me first, but, as you had said many years before, there are times when one must grab the bull by the horns."

"Understood." Mickey leaned forward and accepted the cup, taking a long sip. "However, I can't risk being here to long, I have friends to worry about. You claimed you had important information."

"Indeed I do." Xenos took a long, deep sip of his tea. "However, it is not what you are hoping for. What I have to say is far more important to the safety of the Worlds as a whole."

Mickey narrowed his black eyes just a bit. "What do you mean?"

"I see things now," Xenos looked at him with dead eyes and chuckled. "Not literally, of course, as you know, this body will be forever incapable of sight in the normal convention, but now that I am without Heart of my own to limit my mind's abilities, I can see things that others can not. I can view events dozens of miles away, hours in future, through the minds of others. I see the ties that no one else can, the binds of _Hitsuzen_, of destiny, that tie us all together…

"Tell me, do you know why my world was attacked by the Heartless?"

Mickey was surprised, but shook his head no. Xenos chuckled softly, crossing his arms hands in front of him. "Do you, by any chance, remember my friend Morpheo? A little younger than me, nice boy, quiet and refined?"

"Well, yes." Mickey nodded, as the name had instantly conjured the image of a blonde boy whose company he'd enjoyed very much. "Why?"

"You see, _he_ is the reason the Heartless came to tiny, backwater world so far from the darkness they craved."

Mickey frowned, disbelieving. "Just Morpheo?"

"Just Morpheo." Xenos nodded, a mysterious sort of grin crossing his face. "I trust that Your Majesty is familiar with the ladies known as the Seven Princesses of Heart?"

"Yes, of course…"

"And you know that the Heartless are able to exist in this world because there is a necessary working of the universe itself that requires that there always be a balance between the light and the darkness?"

Mickey's frown deepened again, almost in annoyance. "Where are you going with this, Xenos?"

"Where am I going?" Xenos laughed softly, setting down his cup of tea and leaning back in his seat. "Where are we all going? Where will we all end up? That is a question for those who can not See. The question for those who can is: what will you do with what you have been shown?"

He leaned over the table, a snake-like smile sliding over his face. "You know more of the Light than most ever have the opportunity to discover. Now, my Sight will show you the Darkness…"

**( - )**

"I don't think this was such a good idea, Riku-kun."

Kouichi's voice made Riku wince. It couldn't really be that bad, the younger boy was just being cautious, everything was going to be okay…and he was lying to himself. They were in a pickle.

The fact of the matter is, they were lost. Wandering too far from the safety of their over-turned veggie cart, the boys had found themselves in the middle of a Heartless marketplace and completely lost track of where they might have been going before. Lost in the crowd and unable to find their way back, the only thing that kept them from being set upon by mobs of Heartless was the layer of darkness carefully folded around each of their hearts, a precaution Mickey had gotten Riku (who had an odd sort of talent for such things after tempering the darkness in his own heart) to set up before they entered the town and the black cloaks that let them blend into the shadows subtly.

"Don't worry so much." Riku sighed, trying to dispel both the younger boy's fears and his own. "You'll see, everything's going to be fine…just fine…"

"I wouldn't count on that."

Both boys jumped, Riku yanking the Soul Stealer from its place and Kouichi sliding back to lift his staff into position. The figure standing before them laughed, brushing back his long, dark hair and blowing a small clump of lavender bangs out of his amethyst-gray eyes. He tossed the club he held in one hand into the air and caught it again by its grip after it spun a few times.

Riku gritted his teeth with a low growl, taking a step to the left to put himself between the stranger and Kouichi. This newcomer had a strange sort of sent with him, a musty, dead sort of smell that he didn't like at all. "Who are you?"

"Nobody, in particular." The other boy smirked. "Just a traveler, with an interest in a certain…commodity."

Kouichi took in a sharp breath and dropped his voice down to a whisper. "Riku, look."

Riku looked. The Heartless mob around them was clearing, moving away to form a sort of oval, like an arena that they couldn't have gotten out of if they had wanted to. The shadows lined every edge of this elipse, keeping them in, facing the stranger, chattering wildly.

Riku turned his eyes back to the stranger and growled. "What kind of 'commodity'?"

The young man in front of them smirked. "The two of you."

And then he lunged into the awaited attack. The Heartless around them began to cheer.

**( - )**

Xenos raised an interested eyebrow, looking out into the darkness with a light noise, "Oh."

Mickey's head shot up, not liking the boy's tone of voice. "What is it?"

"I'm seeing something new. Not to far from here…in the city itself." Xenos looked very contemplative and a bit amused at the same time. "Two…no, three boys… fighting, or rather, two of them are fighting while one give his support as best he can, not a particularly strong lad but an interesting sort of Heart, seems very caring in his own sort of way."

Mickey frowned worriedly, recognizing the description that fit his youngest companion all too easily. But then, if Riku was fighting, who was the third one…?

"One of the fighting boys is a Nobody, I can see that, but I don't recognize him. Seems formidable, though. The other, hm… Silver hair, a mixed heart, the darkness within has been very refined, a weapon of sorts. He seems determined to take this Nobody on but, oh dear…"

"What?" Mickey demanded, his voice rising to a worried pitch. "What is it?"

Xenos clicked his tongue. "Seems this Nobody lad has his eyes on the other one… the Healing-boy. And it seems to me that he won't stop at anything to get his hands on him. He would go straight through his opponent in order to get to his target, and from the looks of things, he is perfectly capable of doing just that…"

Mickey drew in a sharp breath. "Riku. Kouichi."

He spun on his heels and took off out the door again, the Keyblade ready to rip through the Heartless until he reached his charges. Xenos smirked to himself, raising one hand to wave after him belatedly.

"Good luck, Your Majesty…"

_**TBC…**_

_Nobodies -_ The new villain-creatures of KH2. When a person with a strong Heart yields to the Darkness, their heart is lost and becomes as Heartless. This leaves behind the victim's body and mind, which begin to act with a will of their own and become a creature called a Nobody. Nobodies can also be created through the action of removing a heart without creating a Heartless, so that the Nobody is a creature completely separate from their original, though they are different in that they do not have the memories of their 'Other'. Normally, the body of the Nobodies deteriorate and fade away to become monsters like the Heartless (var.: Dusks, Dancers, Gamblers, Samurai, etc.) but some keep their human form and are gifted with unique abilities. All of the (cannon) known Human-shaped Nobodies are members of Organization XIII, except for the memory-witch, Ná mine. Xenos, like Xantha, is of my own creation and a plot-point. Heh heh.

_Hollow Bastion - _Formerly known as 'Radiant Garden', this once-beautiful world was nearly destroyed by the Heartless and the fine castle of its King, Ansem the Wise, was warped by Maleficent. Now its rightful residents have returned, including Yuffie, Cid, Aerith and other characters of Final Fantasy, most, I believe, in their mid-twenties/early thirties.

_Hitsuzen - _A word I borrowed fro _xxxHolic_ by Clamp. It is defined in the _Kondansha Japanese Desk Dictionary _as, "A naturally foreordained event. A state in which other outcomes are impossible. A results which can only be obtained by a single causality, and other causalities would necessarily create different results." In other words, destiny.


	8. Reflection Pt 2

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination._

**Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside**

**Chapter 8: Reflection, Pt 2**

"Cura!"

The green leaves of the healing spell burst from the tip of Kouichi's long staff as it thrust up into the air, converging on Riku. The silver-haired boy grinned a bit as the minor wounds across his arms and torso disappeared, but craned his head back to shout at his companion. "Don't wear yourself out on my sake, you got it?"

Kouichi nodded in response, still gripping the staff in his hands. He wasn't particularly well-practiced at healing spells - Mickey had only started him on it a few days before, bypassing some of the so-called 'easier' elemental spells in order to teach something 'in tune with his natural energy' - but he was going to use everything he could to help his friend. Since he couldn't fight particularly well and _knew_ he wouldn't stand a chance against this 'Xantha' fellow, he was going to heal whenever Riku needed it.

And he was needing a lot.

It wasn't exactly that Riku was outmatched, since that had always seemed (and Mickey had always assured him that it always _was_) virtually impossible. It was just that this…Xantha…character was a bit _too_ much of a match. They were countering each other's every blow, which would have been fine, except that Riku still had a normal human's limitations and stamina, and this 'Xantha' guy didn't seem to.

Not to mention, the surrounding hoards of Heartless throwing in attacks while the silver-haired warrior was distracted weren't helping either.

"Cura!"

Xantha smirked at Riku, blocking another attack in the joint between his knife and his club. "Helpful fella, isn't he? It's really kinda cute."

Riku snarled. "Shut up!"

"Ooh. Touchy." Xantha's eyebrow quirked in curiosity. "You're kinda possessive, huh? Almost as bad as the bandana-boy, his brother, who's just a few therapy sessions short of paranoid. Pretty funny."

Riku did a double-take at that, right into Xantha's elbow, the force of which sent him crashing onto his knees. He sat up and spat a bit of blood, rubbing his busted lip with his hand.

"Riku-kun…!"

"Don't heal!" Riku snapped back, not exactly harsh, but commanding and serious. "Don't waste your energy, Kouichi! It's just a cut, I can handle it!"

The dark-haired boy bit his lip, but nodded in understanding and pulled back, clutching the Staff close to his chest defensively. The knuckles gripping the weapon were white with tension, and his hands shook just a bit.

Xantha smirked. "I think he's scared."

"I thought I told you to shut up." Riku spat, pulling up on one knee just long enough to launch into a hard, thrusting attack. His left leg, pulled up tightly beneath him, acting as a spring to propel his body forward with an extra boost of speed.

But before his Soul Stealer blade could even come close to hitting Xantha, a line of Heartless leapt in the way and killed his momentum enough for the older teen to block. Riku cursed under his breath. "Damn!"

"You're going to have to do better than that." Xantha giggled a bit in a maniacal manner, twirling his machete expertly. "A _lot_ better, lover-boy."

Riku snarled and jumped back several long steps, sliding back to just in front of Kouichi. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm his heart a bit. "He's tough…really tough."

"Riku-kun…" Kouichi reached out slowly and put a hand on the other's shoulder. "I can…I can take over if you need me to."

"No." Riku's voice was low and almost harsh, but there was a definite gaze of compassion in his blue eyes. "Listen, Kou, I've seen you fight. I know you can hold your own. But this guy is tough for me. You can't take him alone."

"Neither can you!"

"I know." Riku blew out through his teeth, his blue eyes scanning. Xantha seemed perfectly happy to let the two talk as long as they needed to - indeed, he seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit, like he was watching some entertaining show, which made the silver-haired boy even more annoyed. "But I can hold him off. I think you should get out of here."

Kouichi looked horrified. "Riku-kun!"

"Auw, c'mon," Xantha snickered, "let the kid fight. I've been wantin' a crack at him for a while now."

Riku growled a bit, now determined that getting Kouichi _out_ of here was the best idea. He reached back with his free hand, keeping the Soul Stealer in place, and grabbed the dark-haired boy by the back of his collar.

"H-Hey!"

"You gotta get out of here." Riku hissed, pulling the smaller boy to the side and towards the Heartless wall. "Get out and get the King, he can help."

Kouichi stumbled as he moved, his head ducked down. "B-But…"

"Firaga!" Riku blasted three weakling Heartless out of the way and gave his companion a hard shove. "Go!"

Kouichi stumbled forward, right through the hole Riku had made. Xantha's expression suddenly changed from amused to angry as he slammed his foot into the ground. "That's _not_ the name of the game!"

Vines shot from the earth around his foot and snapped through the air towards Kouichi. Riku saw them halfway through and pounced, bringing the Soul Stealer down on the vines, slicing them clean in half. "Nice try!"

Kouichi stumbled, his foot caught not by vines, but by a Heartless. He turned in mid-fall and struck out with the Staff, evaporating the Shadow in question, and hit the ground on the other side of the wall. He squirmed out of the Heartless's grip and scrambled to his feat. "Riku-kun!"

"Get moving!" Riku shouted, unseen in the depths of the mob. "Find the King, Mickey, hurry!"

Kouichi hesitated just a moment longer, but when the Heartless turned to eye him almost hungrily, his mind was made up for him. He turned on his heels, picked up the Staff, and ran, hoping beyond hoping that the King was somewhere nearby.

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

Mickey raced through the streets, blasting every Heartless that came into his path. The boys hadn't been where he left them, back in the back alley, carefully hidden where the Heartless would have rarely gone. This was not unexpected, given the nature of your average teenager, but it didn't make it any easier on _him_ when it came to finding them.

"Riku! Kouichi!" He shouted, pausing just a moment to gaze around the street for them. "Where are you? Riku!"

A Neo-Shadow burst out from the darkness of the black wall in response to his call. Mickey leapt back and slashed at it with his Keyblade several times before it finally disappeared.

And, as the dark smoke of the Heartless's demise cleared, another voice echoed down from the end of the long alleyway. "Mickey-san!"

"Kouichi!" Mickey snapped his head towards the sound and darted down the cobbled alleyway. "Kouichi, here!"

After a moment, a dark shape rounded the corner of the alley. Mickey jumped back, his weapon bared, expecting a Heartless, before he realized that the dark shape was topped off with a tuft of blue-black hair. Kouichi was sliding backwards on the force of a spell, his staff held out in front of him defensively, the black clock that he wore for protection rustling around him to hide his body's real form.

"Fira!" A blast of flame shot from the center of the staff, evaporating the first Heartless it hit in a puff of black smoke. "Fira!"

Mickey, after pausing only a moment in a sort of proud admiration of how quickly the boy had mastered his first (and currently, only) offensive spell, dash forward and brought his Keyblade down on the mob of Heartless following his friend.

Kouichi sighed in visible relief. "Mickey-san."

Mickey gave the boy a sideways grin, but it soon turned serious once more. "Are you all right? Where's Riku?"

"He's…Riku's in trouble." Kouichi gasped a bit, trying to get his heartbeat to slow down, putting a hand to his chest. "There's this…guy, somebody I've never seen before, but the Heartless follow him. They do what he says, and he's really strong. I'm not sure how long Riku can hold out.

The King whistled slightly. It had been a long time since he'd met someone who was even _half_ as strong as Riku. This was serious.

"Well then, come'on!" He piped, pushing past the boy in a confident, yet polite and encouraging, manner. "Let's get moving! He's going to need our help!"

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

Riku hissed, sliding back a few feet from Xantha's snapping vines. He could feel the Heartless practically breathing down his neck, chattering wildly, after his blood, his Heart…

"Getting a little scared there, are yeh?" Xantha smirked and giggled a bit, sounding drunk on the power of having someone else at his mercy. "I don't blame yeh, buddy. Looks like you're really out of your league here."

Riku smirked, despite the growing pain of an open shoulder room. "You need to get your eyes checked. I'm in a league of my own."

Xantha also quirked his mouth into a smirk, and Riku cursed. He'd seen through his bluff. That meant that the only chance he had right now was for Mickey to arrive, but he couldn't even know if Kouichi had…

"Riku!"

The cry rang out just seconds before a small black-and-red cannonball flew over the wall of Heartless, rotating rapidly. It uncurled a moment before it hit the ground, revealing large yellow shows, a long golden Keyblade, and big, friendly-looking round ears.

Riku sighed in relief. "Mickey."

The King twisted around and winked at his friend brightly. "I guess I can't leave you two alone at all, can I?"

Riku grinned back, but his eyes narrowed. "Where's Kouichi? Isn't he with you?"

"He's on the other side of the wall - safe, don't worry." Mickey shifted his weight into the balls of his feet and shifted around to face the black-haired teen. "We've got bigger fish to fry, now. This is the middle of a fight!"

Xantha locked eyes with him and raised an eyebrow in consternation. "What the hell? _Another_ of those stupid keys? And what's with the rat?"

"Rat!" Riku exclaimed, taking the comment against the King as a personal affront. "Watch your tongue!"

He lunged at Xantha, jumping nimbly over a small Shadow that tried to prevent him from doing so. The black-haired teen blocked the attack, catching it in the junction between his two weapons and pushing the silver-haired boy back.

"You call that an attack? Please." He rolled his eyes. "You're just rehashing your old stuff."

Riku spat off to one side. "Like you're doing any better?"

Xantha's smirked widened slowly. "A _lot_ better, wing-boy."

Before he could really understand what was implied by his opponent's words, something yanked at Riku's ankle and pulled the foot out from under him, causing the silver-haired boy to fall flat on his back. A pained glance downward revealed that 'something' to be a violently-green vine, protruding from the cobblestone streets to squeeze his leg in a death grip.

"Try all you want to get away." Xantha giggled manically, his conniving smirk returning once more in confidence. "But it won't work. My vines are as strong as a steal chain. You're not getting away from me!"

He lunged forward, machete raised and about to come down on the boy sprawled in front of him. Riku grunted lightly and reached for his own blade, but the Soul Stealer was too far away for him to reach and the vine bound too tightly for him to get it off…

Mickey slashed at the Heartless, spinning in mid-attack to find his friend in danger. "Riku!"

"Riku-kun!" Kouichi gasped from beyond the dark wall, his blue eyes widening in horror as the blade grew closer and closer. "Riku-kun!"

"No helping him now!" Xantha crowed, coming in for the attack. "Now, DIE!"

Without anything else to do, Riku uselessly lifted his bandaged left arm to block the attack as best he could, with the vane hope that perhaps the bone of his arm would stop the blade before it reached his body…His eyes clenched closed, prepared for the crippling pain as the limb was half-severed away…

A blinding light seared past his eye lids, and the next thing he heard was Xantha's voice. "What the bloody hell?"

It was followed by Kouichi's gasp, from much closer than before. "Riku-kun!"

Riku snapped his eyes open. The Heartless were gone, fleeing from the light, the wall of them had basically evaporated, which explained why Kouichi was now only a few feet away and hurrying closer every second. Mickey, too, was free from his duties of attack and racing to his friend's side.

But, most surprisingly, the blade of the machete had been stopped, but not by Riku's arm. Or, should we say, not by Riku's arm alone.

There was something new mounted there, a concave green disk made of a thick, strong metal that Riku had never seen before. It was sturdy, yet light, and felt almost as though there was nothing there at all, not even the smooth, reflective surface where Xantha's machete was now held in a perfect counter.

The older teen's face was contorted in rage and shock. "What the hell?"

"Back off!" Riku was momentarily surprised by Kouichi's harsh tone, and then even more so as the end of the Staff shot straight over his head and caught Xantha under the chin with an obviously-painful shock. The tall dark-haired boy stumbled back, clutching his face and crying out in pain.

Kouichi took a deep, steadying breath, as though that one action had taken far too much out of him, then pulled the staff back and dropped down next to his friend. "Riku-kun, are you all right?"

"Huh?" Riku blinked once, still mildly in shock from seeing his otherwise gentle companion react in such an aggressive way, took a while to respond. "Oh, yeah…fine."

Kouichi's eyes softened with a soft sigh of relief, before they fell on the green item and widened a bit again. "Riku-kun, that shield…"

"Argh!" Screamed Xantha, pulling his hands away from his now bright-red chin, glaring knives with diamond-laced blades. "You little _bastard_! You're gonna pay for that one! Heartless!"

There was no response, unless you consider a cricket creak a response.

Mickey's light-hearted chuckle rang through as the King stepped forward from behind the attacking teen. "There's no Heartless around anymore. They all ran off scared. Looks like it's just you and us, now."

Xantha snarled at him over his shoulder. "Stay out of this, rat."

"Rat?" Kouichi sounded just as insulted as Riku had a few moments before. "He's not a rat!"

Mickey had to smile.

"Like I care." Xantha snapped, and twisted his wrist. "I'll still take you down!"

Vines shot from the sleeve of his robe, aimed directly at the two boys. Riku, yanking the remains of the vines from his leg, grabbed Kouichi by one shoulder and pushed in front of the other boy, raising his new shield. The silver surface shown, just long enough for the vines to disappear inside, then glazed over. A second later, it shimmered again like a disturbed pool of water, and the vines snapped back _out_, flying across the battlefield and barreling towards their former wielder.

"What the freakin'…" was all Xantha could get out before his own weapons slammed into his shoulders and sent him flying. Vines, master and all flew across the cobbled streets, barely missing Mickey as he jumped out of the way, and crashed through the wall of the nearest building.

"You got him!" Kouichi beamed excitedly.

"Yeah…no kidding." Riku blinked at his new tool once more before a serious expression crossed his face. "But let's make sure it's for good. Come on."

He was on his feet again in an instant, snatching up the Soul Stealer before the trio darted over to the now-clearing debris. The wing-shaped sword and the Keyblade both aimed at the apex of the dispersing dust, waiting for an attack of some kind, as Kouichi hovered just behind as a second line of defense.

But nothing happened. Xantha was no longer there.

"What the heck?" Riku exclaimed, lowering his blade. "Where the hell is he?"

Mickey shrugged, bouncing into the rubble to stand exactly where their opponent had landed. "He ran off. Looks like you scared him, Riku?"

"I scared _him_?" Riku lifted an incredulous eyebrow. "No way. He's got something else up his sleeve, just you wait."

"Maybe." Kouichi said softly, reaching up to touch the other's tense arm in a gentle, caring manner. "But you did a really good job, Riku-kun. You reflected that attack your first try."

"I didn't." Riku lifted the shield. "This thing did it on its own!"

"But it needed _you_ to do that."

Mickey's eyebrow perked curiously. "How'dya know that, Kouichi?"

Kouichi blushed lightly, obviously not meaning to draw attention to himself, and looked down at his feet. "Well, it's jus that…I've seen that shield before. I think it's from the same place as my…Staff. I guess I just figured it'd work the same way."

"Seems like a good guess to me." Mickey grinned brightly, rocking back on his heels. "And that means Riku can't get rid of it, neither, seeing as the Staff just refuses to leave you alone!"

The black staff trembled a bit, as did the shield, almost like they were resonating with each other or agreeing to Mickey's statement, or both. Riku jumped at the strange feeling, but gave a sheepish little smile as Kouichi began to giggle.

However, their time of peace was cut short rather quickly, as the sound of massive chattering built up behind them and started to get closer and closer. The unmistakable sound of the city's resident Heartless, the ones that hadn't been scared away by the light of the Shield's arrival, racing back to find out what had happened to their brethren and to their marketplace.

"Time to go, boys!" Mickey piped, and took off with a hop, skip and jump to get a little extra power. The two young men wasted no time in agreeing and quickly took off after him.

"Hey, wait a second, Mickey! Where the heck did you run off too?"

"Later, Riku, _later_!"

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

Beryl sneered at the sunlight refracting in from through the thinnest layers of crystal. She hated windows, especially the ones in this place. No matter how her spells at away at it, the bloody castle seemed determined to be as bright and shiny as possible. At least now the spectrum of colors was in somewhat pleasing dark shades, rather than the dancing pastels that blasted _girl_ seemed so fond of.

Her tall heels clicked against the smooth floor as she advanced steadily down the hall, anticipation growing. At the end of the hallway rested her prizes, the Legendary Weapons that _she_ had retrieved, alone. They were hers to bind, now.

Sure, she hadn't been able to gather them _all_, but five out of ten was a very good number, especially when you considered that she had taken one of their owners along with the initial snag. The boy was in cold stasis, frozen in the moment of time that she had snatched him, unconscious, from the Corridors he floated through so aimlessly. He couldn't know that his world was long gone, he didn't even know that he'd been her crowning achievement, posed there with his Item in place like a grand statue.

Yes…She was almost there now. She paused just a moment to relish the feeling of the smooth purple doors before she pushed them open with both hands.

And then she stopped. And stared. And then…

She screamed bloody murder.

_**TBC…**_

Riku's new weapon is the Metaru Defender, also known as the Steel Shield, and yes, it's one of the Ten. For those of you asking, "What took the shield so damn long?" wait until you hear the rest of Beryl's screaming in Chapter 15 of KoEH. Then you'll get it.


	9. Split Up

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination._

**Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside**

**Chapter 9: Split Up**

"Kouichi? Kouichi!"

"Wha?"

Kouichi burst awake with a light gasp, jolting back into reality only to be greeted by Riku's and Mickey's worried faces. The younger boy blinked at them a moment, still sleepily regaining his senses, and finally registered the frightened look that the others shared. "What'sa matter? Is somethin' wrong?"

Riku and the King let out a joint sigh, and the silver-haired boy put a hand over his heart in a relieved, breathless manner. "Don't _do_ that."

"Do what?" Kouichi asked, genuinely confused. He turned his head slightly and blinked, regaining most of his senses. "What was I doing?"

Mickey fell back off his feet and settled onto the ground with a relieved expression on his face. "You were thrashing in your sleep," he explained in a soft tone. "Shouting, too, like you thought someone was following you. And when we tried to wake you up…"

"You stopped." Riku muttered in a soft tone, flexing his hands as though remembering the feeling under his hands. "Everything just stopped. We couldn't even tell if you were breathing, you were lying so still…"

Kouichi's eyes dropped down at the perturbed, scared looks that his companions wore. "I'm sorry to worry you.."

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Riku waved his hand dismissively and let a smile wander onto his face. "We just wanted to make sure you weren't being hurt."

Kouichi nodded in understanding, partially to hide the blush that was slipping over his cheeks. He always felt distinctly flattered when someone expressed concern for him…with his relatively small number of friends, it came as a great delight to know that people cared for him…but for some reason, lately, the words coming out of Riku's mouth just made his head spin. "Thank you both…for worrying. But I am fine, really."

Riku let a tired grin slide onto his lips. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

Kouichi smiled. "Got it."

Mickey giggled a bit and bounced to his feet, making his way over to the mouth of the cave they were resting in. He took a deep breath of cold, crisp air. "Take a look around, boys. It's a beautiful day!"

Riku pulled himself to his feet and slid over to the mouse-king with an energy-conserving shuffle. He leaned against the stone face of the cave and smirked lightly. "Huh. You're right. As pretty as a place like this gets, anyway."

Kouichi wandered over as well and smiled. The view from this high cliff really was spectacular, as the long path way curled up the mountain and then back down the other side stretched in either direction, its ash-gray dust cutting a thin, pale line through the obsidian black of the rocks. The day was hazy, glowing with silver not-light that reflected strangely off the water particles in the air, giving one the feeling of walking on clouds here so far up.

"It's nice." He whispered, even though it wasn't really nice, just pretty. He pulled the Staff closer to himself, bracing his weight against it, an uneasy feeling coming over his heart.

Riku noticed this, looking down at the younger boy in concern. "Is something wrong?"

Kouichi didn't answer for a moment, pulling the staff in a bit closer. "I don't think we should stay here for long. The air tastes strange today. Something just seems…wrong."

Riku lifted an impressed eyebrow, whistling lightly. He never ceased to be impressed by the rate at which the younger boy's 'talents' had developed. True, he could normally sense the Heartless before his friend did, and he could manipulate the darkness in a way that the other could not. But Kouichi had developed a sort of…'feeling'… for the heart of the Darkness, as though he could sense the subtle changes in the fabric that made up the world around them.

Occasionally, he would wonder what would cause something like this to develop. He knew that _his_ powers stemmed from the time he'd been immersed in Maleficent's and Ansem's darkness, a depth of shadow that left a stain on his own Heart. But Kouichi, as far as they knew, didn't have an excuse like that. Perhaps his abilities had come from the Staff, which seemed to radiate the essence of Darkness, or maybe…

"Riku?"

He shook himself out of his daze and glanced down at Mickey. "Hm?"

"Don't think so hard." Riku raised a curious eyebrow. The mouse-king was staring straight out at the fog, his eyes focused and measured like a telescope on its target. "It won't do you any good on a day like today. You're going to need to think as quickly as you can. Depth doesn't matter today."

Another quirked eyebrow, but something in the King's serious tone made the boy realize that he wasn't joking. Riku turned his eyes back out to their barely-lit surroundings and sighed. "Yes, sir."

Mickey smiled just a bit. Riku almost never called him 'sir'.

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

Xantha was edgy.

Okay, more than edgy. He was certifiably nervous, anxious, edgy _and_ pissed off.

And all of this waiting wasn't helping anything.

"C'mon, c'mon." He muttered under his breath, gripping his hands tightly under the folds of his robes. He winced a bit at the pain - another layer of flesh had broken off under the gloves, now it was slowly disintegrating. "Let's just _do _it already, we can take them."

Myotismon, standing just behind the teen, clicked his purple tongue lightly. "Patience, my young friend. It takes patience to win any game."

"This isn't a _game_!" Xantha snarled, "This is a bloody matter of life and _death_!"

"I understand that." Myotismon whispered again, his voice as evened and measured as ever, his eyes focused intently at the prize moving along below them. "But we have to use this opportunity to our utmost advantage. It wouldn't do for you to take up a new residence and get evicted as soon as you are settled, now would it?"

Xantha scowled even deeper, but had to mutter out a short, "No."

"I'm glad you realize that." Myotismon smirked and lifted his hand, two finger pressed against each other tightly, even through the starched white gloves. "Because the show is about to begin…"

The echoing sound of his fingers snapping echoed around the mountain like a gunshot.

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

_Snap!_

Riku shot his head up. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know." Mickey tensed as well, and Kouichi pulled his staff in more tightly towards his chest defensively.

The younger of the two boys listened for a moment, then turned his eyes back down the path they had come from. "Guys," he whispered, his voice dry and light in the moist, heavy air, "Something's coming."

Riku tensed, summoning the Soul Stealer into his hands as his shoulders stiffened tensely. "Something like what?"

They fell quiet, waiting, watching, their eyes focused on the fog as best they could. For a long while, nothing happened. Then a chattering noise reached their ears, a familiar cacophony of high-pitched shrieks, squeals, scratches and chirps that could only mean one thing…

"Heartless!" Mickey jumped back, his golden Keyblade bursting to life in his hand.

"A lot of them, too." Kouichi muttered, gripping the Staff. He pulled back, drawing the weapon across his chest, and slide his feet back a bit to set up a kind of defense behind Riku. "What do we do?"

The silver-haired boy tensed again. "That should be obvious…"

"We run."

"What?" Riku snapped his head toward Mickey with surprise. "Why?"

The mouse-king hopped back a few steps, his arms out in a stance that blocked both of the teens from going forward. "There's no way we can fight that many in a place like this. It's too thin - too dangerous. One slip, and we'll fall, plain and simple. It's better to run until we get a more secure position."

Kouichi nodded, understanding the logic, and his eyes trailed to the other boy almost hesitantly. Riku could, the same way that Kouji could, be very stubborn when it came to his pack-like, territorial, protective instincts. "Riku-kun?"

The silver-haired boy took a deep, calming breath, then sighed. "He's right. We have to run."

With a chattering shriek, three small Knight-type Heartless leapt from the fog in a furious attack. The Soul Stealer and Keyblade slashed in synchronized motion, dispersing the two creatures without much more than a breath.

"Let's move!" Riku insisted, giving Kouichi a light shove from behind to get him moving. "Come on, you first! Let's go!"

Kouichi, reluctantly, started back up the path, pausing every now and then to make sure that the others were only just behind him. He hated being 'out of danger', he didn't want that to happen again. He wanted to help Riku-kun and Mickey-san, but just healing them every now and then wasn't enough…

In his distracted thoughts, his mind suddenly focused on a slightly gleam from deep within the black rocks. He meant to pause only a moment, reaching into the crevice with his fingers, but when the item was in his posession he couldn't help but stop and stare.

Riku didn't notice this until he ran right into him, nearly knocking the smaller boy down. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"This…" Kouichi turned to him slowly, holding up a small, rectangular picture frame, the hinged lid hanging open. Looking out from the inside was the picture of two small, identical boys, cuddled together on a beanbag, holding hands. "This…I…I gave this…to my brother…years ago…This belongs to Kouji. My brother!"

Riku's mind took a while to put together what the broken, fragmented words were trying to say. "You mean that thing is…"

"Boys, watch out!"

Riku snapped his head up. An 'Air Pirate'-type Heartless was barreling through the sky towards them, it arms outstretched, it wings vibrantly spread. It had shot over the King and the crowd of Heartless behind him and was now coming straight for the boys.

For the first time, Kouichi thought faster than Riku and shoved the older boy to the ground. Riku regained his thoughts seconds later, just in time to hear a pained cry as the Pirate snatched his teammate by the arms and the defensively-pulled weapon, hoisting him up, up towards the mountain's peak.

"Kouichi!" Riku gasped. His head craned upwards, searching for his friend, but the boy and the Heartless had already disappeared up into the foggy, barely-lit sky. "No…"

"Riku, heads up!" Mickey's warning came again, and again, it was too late.

A Neo-Shadow Heartless leapt forward and slashed at Riku's face, leaving several deep cuts along the boy's cheek. The force of this attack knocked the boy back just far enough to roll off the edge of the mountain path.

Luckily, Riku's instincts kicked in at the last minute, and he snatched the edge of the crevice before he could free-fall. His other hand slashed upwards with the Soul Stealer, blowing the Neo-Shadow away before it could even think about loosening his grip.

Mickey, slashing away a few more Heartless in the process, dashed to his teammate. "Hang on Riku, I've got'cha."

He reached down and grabbed Riku's hand. The boy looked up to offer his thanks, but his eyes widened at the shadowed figure hovering behind the King. "Mickey, look out!"

Mickey spun around, but it was too late. Xantha gave him a hard shove, and the two of them fell. Their screams as they fell were muffled by the Nobody's laughter.

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

Kouichi was alone. And he hated it.

The Heartless had dropped him so close to the top of the mountain that he was having trouble breathing in the thinness of the air. He was exposed up here, without any idea where Riku and Mickey were, no idea how to catch up to them, no nothing. He hated it, hated it, hated it. His mind now focused on one thing: How to find his friends.

"Riku-kun! Mickey-san!"

Kouichi called through cupped hands as he walked, squinting painfully through the even thicker fog. He stumbled a bit, his foot catching on an outcrop of rock and only barely yanked himself straight when his toes were inches from the edge of the pathway, his arms flailing, the end of the Staff dug into the ground to keep from tumbling off the edge. He took a deep breath, using his weapon as leverage to pull himself up again, and pressed his back against the rock.

The fog was so think that he couldn't even see a shadow. The shrieks and screams of the Heartless echoed in his ears, but none of them were close. He started to move, keeping his hands pressed against the hard rock, feeling his way along the edge.

He was scared. He couldn't explain it, but he was scared, terrified, and the feelings were amplified as he realized that he was alone and exposed, so high up and all alone now…

"R-Riku-kun?" He gulped, his voice dry, his throat drier. "M-Mickey-san?"

His fingers felt nothing but air, falling through a gap in the rocks. And at that moment, a large hand clamped down over his mouth, and he couldn't even scream.

_**TBC…**_

"…_life and death!"_ - You have no idea how tempted I was to make a Go pun here…

Heh heh…yes, it's supposed to be a cliffhanger, and yes, you don't know what's going on…Just wait, okay? Just wait! You'll see soon, I promise!! Don't kill me! Or the Muses! I need them to come into work to finish this!


	10. Split Up Pt 2

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination._

**Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside**

**Chapter 10: Split Up Pt. 2**

Kouichi's first reaction was a perfectly natural one, given the position he was currently in: scream, even though it was muffled by the hand over his mouth, and struggle with whoever it was holding him. He couldn't see them, but they were strong, strong enough to hold him even as he struck out with both arms and the Staff…

"Shhh." A familiar, longed-for voice whispered kindly into his ear. "It's okay, Nii-san. I'm not going to hurt you."

For a moment, it took the elder twin a while to process this voice, however familiar it might be. Then he twisted around, coming face-to-face with an almost mirror-like reflection of himself, smiling at him kindly. "K-Kouji…?"

"Yeah, it's me." The younger twin pulled away just a few steps, putting just enough space between them that his brother could see everything. Kouichi took in every detail carefully - the face, identical to his, though bearing several more scratches, the clothes, somewhat tattered but still familiar, the stance, every muscle controlled and calculating, never a wrong movement in anything the body did…

Kouichi recognized all of it as though he had seen it just hours before, and though it all took a moment to register, his face soon spread into a bright, excited smile. "Kouji! It is you!"

He threw his arms around his brother's shoulders, dropping the Staff in his eagerness for contact. Kouji seemed to be just a little surprised, but his face soon spread into a smile and he folded his arms around the other, patting his back gently. "It's okay, Nii-san…"

"Okay? This is so much better than okay!" Kouichi was laughing, the sound just bubbling out of him thanks to joy and the fear that had filled his heart just moments before. "I've missed you so much, Kouji…I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Me too, Nii-san." Kouji smirked just a bit into the side of his brother's hair, tensing his arms to pull the hug in even tighter, almost as though he was intent on keeping Kouichi exactly where he was. "Me, too…"

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

"Riku! Riku, are you all right? Riku!"

Riku groaned and forced his eyes open to a half-covered position languidly. He could see the King, or at least his vague outline against the gleaming not-light, but his head was ringing so badly that it was painful for him to focus on anything beside the sound filling his ears painfully. "…Mickey?"

"Hold still." The King instructed, attempting to tie a bandage so that the light gash in the back of Riku's head was pulled closed. "There. We'll let that set a bit until we find Kouichi. His Cura's got a better effect on that kinda thing than mine does."

At the younger boy's name, Riku sat up so sharply that he nearly knocked Mickey over. "Where is he?"

"Riku, hold on…"

"Where's Kouichi?" Riku was on his feet before the mouse-King could stop him, groping for the Soul Stealer, which he found in due time, and the Shield, which was stubbornly attached to his arm, as always. "Mickey, where is he? We have to find him, the Heartless-"

Mickey was suddenly in the air, jumping to Riku's eye level for a split second before planting his hands on the boy's shoulders and pushing him into a seated position on the ground. "You need to calm down, Riku. You're hurt, and we're not going to be able to help Kouichi if you make it worse."

It was then Riku realized that he, being mostly human and, thus, lacking Mickey's almost-cartoonish invulnerability, had several dozen cuts on his arms, shoulders and legs, and his neck was bruised painfully. He reluctantly stopped trying to get to his feet and allowed Mickey to do his best for the wounds, trying to figure out exactly where they were in the process.

They were at the bottom of what seemed to be a small canyon - no, a crevice, a crack in the rocks between the two peaks. The floor of this crack was scattered in rocks, indicating that this was an area of constant landslides. The pile of relatively small stones that they were resting on now had acted as a kind of a cushion, keeping their damage at a decent minimum. The crevice's opening was relatively small and easily overlooked, in fact, he could see Heartless leaping over the gap high above them. The not-light of the Darkness was directly above them, glaring down from whatever sun-like source it seemed to spring from, indicating that two hours had passed since they'd fallen down here.

Two…hours…

Kouichi had been carried off just before they were shoved here. He'd spent two hours alone…alone with the Heartless, or worse, with that bastard Xantha. Riku didn't know what that freak of a…'Nobody,' whatever that mean…wanted with his friend, but he was willing to bet that it wasn't good.

And beside all that…Kouichi hated being alone.

"We need to find him."

"You're right." Mickey sighed, tightening a bandage around the silver-haired boy's bruise neck. "Just give me a minute and…there!"

The bandage was snipped off, and the mouse-King hopped backwards. Riku sat up, flexed his fingers and hands to make sure that everything was still attached the right way, then pushed onto his feet to make sure of the same thing on his lower appendages. For a moment, he thanked whatever Power-that-Be had built him somewhat sturdier than your average teenager.

Once he was certain that everything was in its proper place, he turned his head to look up the chasm wall for a way out. "Pretty steep."

"But they're pretty close together." Mickey measured the space with his eyes and found it somewhat satisfactory. "I can get up there pretty easily, I think. But you, Riku…"

"I'll just climb." The boy gripped his weapon tightly in his fist, a bit of determination rippling through the grip and visibly trembling the blade. "You need to get up there, and fast. Kouichi could be in danger, and the sooner one of us gets to him, the better."

Mickey look concerned, probably about the wounds his friend had sustained in their fall. "But Riku…"

"I'll be right behind you, you don't have to worry about me." The boy pushed a confident grin onto his face and gave Mickey a light wink. "Besides, nobody can beat me. Remember?"

The King lifted a surprised eyebrow for just a moment, then laughed. "All right, Riku, if you say so. I'll see you at the top!"

He leapt up onto the nearest bolder, aiming his eyes for the top of the crevice. It took him a moment to judge the angle, as careful and cautious as ever. Then he kicked off and shot forward, bouncing like a rubber ball until he disappeared over the top.

Riku brushed his bangs out of his eyes - noting, with some entertainment, that they were getting ridiculously long - and moved to the wall. He dug the Soul Stealer into the rock, pulling himself up and silently praying that Kouichi could hold on until they got to him.

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

At that moment, Kouichi was making his way down the mountain with his brother in tow and talking almost non-stop. For a normally quiet person, this was almost difficult to do, occasionally having to stop and catch his breath or stumbling over his words, but there was just so much he wanted to tell Kouji. It felt like it had been _so_ long…

"You have to meet Riku-kun," he said out of the blue, cutting off practically in the middle of a sentence to turn and smile at his brother. "Mickey-san, too. They've been so nice to me, and I still haven't paid them back for saving me before. But I really want you to meet Riku-kun, I think you'll like him. You're a lot alike."

Kouji's expression was cool and encouraging. "Oh, really?"

"Definitely!" Kouichi nearly giggled at the thought and twisted back around, hopping off a ledge to the next level of twisting pathway. "Every time I started to miss you, he'd do something, and it was like you were with me. It was so close sometimes that I'd start laugh, and he and Mickey-san thought I was crazy."

There was silence for a moment, and Kouichi felt an uncertain lump form in his stomach, which he tried to shove away with a light cough. Then Kouji spoke. "You said that they were fighting when you left them, didn't you? Aren't you worried about them?"

"A bit," Kouichi shrugged some, glancing back at his brother out of the corner of his eye. "But Mickey-san and Riku-kun are very strong. I'm certain they'll be able to handle anything that the Heartless can throw at them, even in a situation like this."

"Really?"

"Yes." Kouichi stumbled a bit, braced himself with the Staff, and picked up without missing a step. His brother said nothing. "They're both very strong, especially Riku-kun. Mickey-san says that nobody can beat him, not even the strongest Heartless or the Keyblade Master. They've both been taking good care of me. If it wasn't for them, I don't think I could have made it through this world."

Another few steps of silence, the only noise that of shoes crunching against the ground. "So you like him, then?"

"Riku-kun?" Kouichi felt his cheeks redden a bit, though he couldn't have told himself why. "Well…yes. He's a little hard to get close to, I'll admit, but once you get to know him he can be very…sweet. He's been so kind to me, and he's so strong and loyal to his friends. I've never met anybody that loyal before. He really is nice…"

A light chuckle echoed behind him, a cold one, one that sent a cold ripple up his spine. "That's really sweet. You've developed a crush since the last time I saw you."

Kouichi nearly gagged on his own tongue at the putrid taste that suddenly filled his mouth. It didn't come from the figure behind him, no, it was in front of him, cutting off his escape route. The boy behind him had no taste, no scent. There was nothing there, nothing about him…

"You're…not Kouji."

The boy smirked. "Bingo."

"How very clever."

A hand reached out, and the moment it wrapped around Kouichi's left wrist he twisted, striking at it with the Staff. But his attack was blocked in mid-strike, giving him a good look at the blonde-haired, red-masked, pale face of the man who was holding him. Purple lips curled back in a smirk, revealing sharp white fangs, and the gloved hands gripping his wrists tightening in a painful manner.

"Hm. Aggression. That's certainly unusual, for one of the Boys."

The vampire twisted the boy around so that he was holding him from behind, his arms pulled away from his body. Kouichi pulled, struggling with his arms and fighting with all his might, before gripping the Staff even tighter. "Firaga!"

A fireball burst from the center of the Staff, large enough that the Kouji-fake only barely slipped out of the way in time. He was laughing as he slipped back into place, and Kouichi's eyes widened when he realized that he recognized that face. "You!"

"That's right." Xantha smirked, his long, skunk-print ponytail now blowing free in the wind. "That trick's getting easier and easier every time I do it. Soon, nobody won't even be able to tell the difference."

"As it should be." The vampire chuckled, still holding the boy tightly.

Kouichi's mind stumbled over their words, but self-preservation rose up against curiosity, with a rise of another spell. "Fir-"

Xantha moved quickly this time, taking his club and slamming it the boy's gut. Kouichi's spell died on his lips with a strangled gasp as the air was knocked from his lunged violently, and he doubled over as best as the hold he was currently in would let him.

"None of that." Xantha sniggered, slipping his weapons back into their holsters at his belt. "We're not here to hurt anybody, now are we?"

The vampire's smirk widened. "No, certainly not…"

Kouichi took in a breath, painfully, and hacked as he did so. He moaned lightly, feeling a burning liquid rise into the back of his throat, fighting the urge to wretch in front of the enemy. Xantha saw this and laughed, leaning down to muss the boy's hair. "Auw, I think he's going to be sick, Myotismon."

"It would be a pity," the creature…a Digimon, Kouichi realized blurrily…sniffed lightly, " if your new shell were to become soiled just before its new occupant takes up residence."

Shell…? Occupant…?

"Okay, okay, I get it." Xantha sniffed lightly, pulling back his sleeves lightly. "Be ready for your end of the deal."

"As long as you don't drop the Heart. It's too precious to loose."

"Do you think I would? Please. I'm not that sloppy."

Kouichi hacked once more, finally drawing in enough of a breath that he could muster up a few rough word. "Wait…stop…What're you…"

"Brace yourself, kiddo." The older teenager smirked, popping his wrists as a black, vine-like glow appeared from his sleeves, twining around his hands and fingers. "I hope this hurts a lot."

And with that, he drew his dark, glowing hands back and thrust them deep into Kouichi's chest.

Kouichi gagged as the strange darkness spread over his chest, making it all too easy for Xantha to dig his hands in deeper and deeper. The Nobody's fingers suddenly curled around something, starting to pull, and stars danced in front of Kouichi's eyes at the pain. Before he quite realized what was happening, he found that his consciousness was slowly slipping away, with darkness eating away at the edge of his sight, finding it so hard to think. Some part of him realized what was happening, but it was too late to stop it now. Everything around him was fading away…

"Kouji…" He whispered, his throat dry, his last thoughts before he blacked out vocalizing painfully. "Riku…kun…"

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

Riku missed his next hand-hold, only not falling back down the half of the crevice that he'd scaled so far because his other hand was still holding the Soul Stealer, which was buried firmly in the rock wall. He missed, not because he was rushing or anything of the likes, but because a sudden nauseating feeling had spread across his entire body.

He grit his teeth and groaned lightly, putting a hand to his head. It felt as though a jolt of electricity had shot through his entire body, and for a moment, his senses remained numb. In the white noise that filled his head soon afterwards, there was one thought that managed to come out somewhat clear:

"_Kouichi…"_

Whatever this was that had hit him, he could only come up with two things: Something had happened to Kouichi, and it wasn't good.

He needed to get up there _now_.

Riku twisted around, his resolve even stronger than it had been before, to grab the handhold that he had missed before. It was not the easiest climb in the world, by any means, and it wasn't made any easier by the wounds on his legs and arms, but he had gotten so far in so short a time…He _had _to keep going.

He pushed himself forward, gripping the slipper rocks as best he could. There were more and more Heartless now, and it seemed as though they multiplied by every inch he pushed upward. They didn't seem like they were looking for him or Kouichi or the King for that matter, but at the same time, they didn't look like they were picking a fight. They looked as though they were…_celebrating_ something. Almost as though they were dancing, on their way to some macabre festival, and his little gap was just a small pit stop on the way to their destination…

As he reached the very top, planning to slip up and attack the nearest Heartless before they knew he was there, Riku's grip slipped on the rock, and left him dangling by the grip of the Soul Stealer. The light gasp that fell from his lips drew the attention of a Neoshadow, who slithered up to the edge and gazed down at him with hungry, beady gold eyes, obviously looking through his body to the tasty heart concealed beneath it.

The Heartless loomed over him, its long claws searching for him with long, dangerous slashes that would have taken Riku's head off, had he not been able to move as quickly as he did. But with the Soul Stealer lodged in the rocks, holding him up, the Shield was the only thing protecting him, and from this angle all he could do was hope it held out…

There was a slash, and Riku looked over the edge of his shield just in time to see the Heartless disappear with a curl of black smoke. Then a face appeared over the edge, clutching the thick black staff close as wide blue eyes silently expressed concern.

The silver-haired boy had to blink several times before his mind could put together all of the factors, and he still didn't understand the conclusion. "Kouichi…?"

"Oh, Riku!" The younger boy lay the staff on the ground and reached out for the other. "Grab my hand, please. I'll pull you up."

Riku twisted a bit, still trying to figure out what was happening, and reached out to grasp the other's hand. Just as the smaller fingers curled around his gloved hand, a dark shadow behind the younger boy caught his eye. "Watch it!"

Kouichi's head turned back, just a bit, but the effort was not necessary. Mickey appeared so suddenly that Riku almost let go of both his supports, he was so startled by the Mouse-Kings leaping over the crevice, tumbling through the air, Keyblade drawn and more than ready to come down hard on the Neoshadow and dispel it almost instantly.

Mickey landed as nimbly as ever, his stance open and protective of his two young companions. "Boys, are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah…" Kouichi whispered, licking his dry lips lightly. "We're fine, Mickey…"

"Good!" The King slashed again, and three more Heartless vanished at once. "Get Riku up, and fast! We need to get out of here!"

Riku planted his feet against the wall and shoved his way up the rocks, grabbing both of Kouichi's hands for extra support. "Why? What's wrong?"

"It's not safe here anymore!" Mickey darted to the side, knocking half a dozen Heartless away. "Something's calling the Heartless to this mountain, something really bad. There's no way we can stand up to all of them alone, so we need to retreat, now!"

Riku made it the last few scrambled steps to a secure place on the ground. He crouched down and yanked the Soul Stealer free, pulling Kouichi to his feet and raising the Shield to cover them both. He glanced at the smaller boy. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kouichi picked up the Staff, gripping it tightly, though his hands were shaking. "We…We can get out of this, can't we?"

"Of course we can. We've been in tighter-" Riku stopped in mid-sentence. Something was wrong, he knew that it was, very, very wrong. But what? What was so wrong that he couldn't even figure out what had made it wrong in the first place…?

"Riku?" The younger boy's voice reached his ears. "Riku, are you okay?"

Riku shook himself lightly, raising the Shield and the Soul Stealer, both ready for defense, and shook the thoughts away. "It's nothing. You ready?"

"I think so."

"Relax, kiddo." Mickey grinned, hopping back into their little group, winking at the two dark young men brightly. "We'll make it through just fine, and you know it. As long as we stick together."

For a moment, Kouichi seemed almost…surprised. Then he smiled. "Okay."

Riku had so many questions that he wanted to ask, so many things that hadn't added up yet no matter how he tried to force them together. He wanted to know what had happened to his friend, why he'd been spirited away by the Heartless, only to reappear as though nothing had happened. He wanted to know what it was attracting the Heartless to this one place, and why so suddenly, and why did they seem to be celebrating so intently. And, more than anything, he wanted to know what, exactly, was so wrong about everything that seemed to be happening, and why it wasn't good or at least normal, and why…

"Ready, boys?" Mickey's golden Keyblade arched through the air, their first attack and their signal to do more. "Let's go!"

And then Riku had to push away all of his thoughts and push ahead, cutting through the Heartless and leaving his questions for another day…

_**TBC…**_

Confused? Good! Heh heh…you're not supposed to know what's happening yet, because that would ruin a very good plot point for the main story, which is where the rest of these group scenes are going to be presented. Until then, feel free to guess away all you want.

Hm…depending on how everything works out, I believe there's going to be one last chapter to this collection of short stories that I tend to call I/O, because, by then, Kouichi, Mickey and Riku will have finally entered into regular appearance in the main KoEH story. But I'm going to leave this off with a nice, sweet ending…and maybe a bit of a shonen-ai hint. I LIKE this pairing!


	11. Tremors

Technically, this chapter was not in my plans, but since the finale of this story (and its merging with the main fic) won't happen until after the next two chapters of the main KoEH (which, if pattern holds true, will take me a while) I figured I should post _something_ to keep this story somewhat alive. Especially since my precious laptop, Donnie, took one for the team last week and now has to spend the next three weeks getting his screen repaired…

**_Disclaimer: _**_I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination._

**Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside**

**Chapter 11: Tremors**

A shudder ran up Riku's spine and he twisted back around, gazing back down the long, twisting path. "Christ, what was that?"

Mickey and Kouichi stopped, turning back to him. The King had his Keyblade clutched in his hand, as usual, and Kouichi was leaning on the staff almost like a walking stick. The younger boy rested his head on the edge of the pole, blinking at his pale-haired companion curiously. "What was what, Riku?"

Riku blinked and stared at them. "You…didn't feel that?"

"Feel what?" asked the King, quirking his head to one side.

Riku sighed, shook his head and decided he was being stupid. "Nothing…It was nothing. Just my imagination, I guess."

The other two nodded. sympathetically and turned back to their path, gazing up the hill they were climbing in a thoughtful manner. Riku frowned a bit, rubbing the back of his neck in an attempt to brush away the prickling feeling that was rising up there.

They had recently arrived in a strange part of the Realm of Darkness, a place unlike anything they had seen before. It was almost like a place from their own realm - a number of beautifully rolling hills covered in lush grass - except that the grass was such a dark green that it was unnatural and the sky was pitched black, broken only by the strange dark stars that only Kouichi and Riku could see. A silvery grey path ran over the hills, looping up and down and leading off into the distance of heaven-knows where.

In all honesty, they weren't even sure what they were doing here. Kouichi had lead them off in this direction 'on a hunch,' saying that he felt like 'something was here.' Kouichi's senses about the Darkness were sharp and strong, never leading them wrong before.

But Riku still couldn't push the uneasy feeling away, the feeling that whatever was here, it wasn't what they were looking for…

He hadn't really felt at ease for the last few weeks of the journey. He couldn't explain it, but there it was. Maybe it had something to do with the strange scent he'd sensed hanging around Kouichi ever since that incident on the mountain, the tangy darkness that stuck him as familiar, but not enough so to belong to his friend. Kouichi had brushed off his worries in his usual gentle manner, waving them away like the flies he shooed away from their evening meal.

Riku glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye, looking over him for any indication that something was wrong. He couldn't find any, just like every other day in the past week. His friend walked as he always did, with the tall black Staff as a walking stick. He had hardly stumbled, and he didn't look sick or hurt or even really tired. But Riku still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong…

As though sensing the eyes on his back, Kouichi suddenly turned and looked at him. Big, innocent blue eyes blinked at him curiously. "Riku? Is there something wrong?"

Riku shook himself roughly, clearing his mind of the awkward thoughts. "Er… No, it's nothing. Just thinking."

"Are you tired?" Kouichi asked, pausing for a moment at the top of the hill to smile back at him. "We could take a break here if you want. I think it'd be a good place, don't you?"

The last comment had been directed to the King, who had caught up with the younger boy at the top of the hill. The mouse-king brushed the hood back from his head and looked out over the path. "Looks good to me. Take a look, Riku!"

Riku picked up the pace a bit to catch up with his companions at the top of the gentle roll. This was the highest peak of the little range they were wandering through, tall enough that they could see over all of the rolling hills. In the very distance, Riku almost thought that he could see a single light of soft grey light, defining the rolling hills and swelling in the middle as though attempting to point something out to them. It gave them a good view of the surrounding area, and that made for secure location for a rest, especially if it was just going to be a few minutes.

"Okay, why not?" He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck again, and plopped onto the grass. "I could use a rest anyway."

Kouichi giggled in the endearingly cute way that he always had and settled down in the grass next to his silver-haired friend, laying the Staff across his lap just in case it was needed. He leaned back against Riku body, resting his head against the silver-haired boy's shoulder, and closed his eyes with the complete trust that he'd always had.

For some reason, the entire scene made a chill run through Riku's body, and he hated it. Kouichi had always been surprisingly, well, _physical_ for such a shy person – that is, he expressed his concern and affection mostly through physical contact, whether it was gently brushing his fingers over a wound, hesitantly holding onto another's hand when he was frightened or leaning against them just to feel their presence. It had been a bit strange at first, but Riku had quickly grown to enjoy the constant contact and the warmth of the friendship that it brought.

However, recently, he felt like he could hardly stand to have Kouichi near him, let alone touching him. Every time their skin brushed together, he felt as though ice had slid into the depths of his stomach. He didn't understand it, but he hated it – he wanted the warmth back.

Not far way, Mickey remained standing, wandering idly around the hill to get a better look at their surrounding area. Riku noticed a strange tenseness in his otherwise rubbery body, as though the King was just waiting for something to crawl out of the woodwork and go at them.

"Is something wrong?" he asked softly.

"Wrong?" Mickey didn't twitch, just responded to the comment as though it had been any other random topic of conversation. He didn't even look at the boys, keeping his dark brown eyes focused on the horizon. "Of course not. Why would you think that anything's wrong?"

Riku quirked a curious eyebrow, recalling that, the last time Mickey had played with him like this, they'd met Kouichi barely an hour later. "Maybe because you're more wound up than a spring toy at Christmas?"

Mickey laughed, and the sound was as pleasant as always, but it seemed forced somehow. "I guess I just have a little excess energy, that's all. It's nothing to be worried about."

Kouichi giggled a bit. "Riku, I think you're starting to get paranoid."

Riku glanced back at the younger boy, who still had his eyes closed, and frowned at the returning sense of _wrong_-ness. He caught the King's eye with a bit of a frown, but said nothing, instead looking once again back to the horizon.

The cold line of light prickled at his eye a bit, like a frosty wind on an icy winter day, though it was obvious that it wasn't moving and wasn't planning on moving anytime soon. It was like this area was stuck in a permanent twilight, hovering perpetually on the verge between light and darkness. Everything around them had a feeling of uneasy to it, as though they were just on the verge of slipping and being lost within one void or the other.

The though made Riku wonder, very briefly, if a void of light would be any better than a void of shadow. He quickly decided that it would not be – light, darkness or otherwise, a world without a form simply could not be a pleasant place.

He realized that his mind had wandered off, yet again, and shook himself back to his senses. What was wrong with him today? It was like he just couldn't stop…thinking…

"Do either of you think is place is a little…strange?" He asked slowly, without really thinking about it.

Mickey glanced at him. "It's the Realm of Darkness, Riku. We all know that nothing is normal here."

"Yeah, I know," the silver-haired teen frowned a bit and brushed his bangs away from his eyes restlessly. "Something just feels…different. Can't you feel it? It's not the usual strangeness, it's just…wrong."

"Hm…" Mickey frowned just a bit. The expression didn't look right on his usually bright face. "I think I understand…things do seem to feel a little off-balance…"

Kouichi stretched, working out a kink in his right shoulder, and let out a little bit of a sigh. "It is different," he admitted with a bit of a yawn. "But I don't think it's really _wrong_. I kinda like it."

This time, Riku's expression was clearly inquiring if his friend had lost his mind, but Kouichi seemed to make a point out of not noticing it. His eyes were still closed and he still had a strangely relaxed expression on his face, so much so that Riku actually wondered if he had somehow gotten happily drunk without their noticing. If Riku didn't know any better, he would sweat that Kouichi was _humming_, though it certainly wasn't any tune that he was familiar with.

"It's nice to get off-balance every now and then, you know," Kouichi said with a bit of a giggle, running his hands over the Staff in a contemplative manner. "It makes life interesting. Who knows, maybe getting a bit off-balance is all we need to find that 'something' that's looking for us." He turned his eyes to the silver-haired boy behind him and smiled. "Don't you think, Riku?"

It was then that something clicked in Riku's mind, something that finally answered all of his questions about the wrongness that had followed them for so long. He sat up straight, breaking contact with the smaller boy, and let his mouth drop into the question. "Who…?"

But before he could get it out, something suddenly pulled his arm so violently that he slipped a few inches down the hill.

Instinctively, he pulled back, only to be dragged forward again. He looked for his attacker, but saw nothing. It was only when the green and silver shield attached firmly to his arm vibrated again and jerked that he realized what was happening.

The Shield was doing this on its own…

"Boys!" the King exclaimed, spinning around. "What's happening?"

Above him, Riku heard Kouichi grunt, and managed to spare a glance upwards just enough to see him struggling against the Staff with both hands. The black weapon jerked and twitched, pulling in the same direction that the Shield was trying to drag Riku.

"S-Something's wrong with them…" The younger boy groaned. "It's like they're trying to escape…but I can't let go…!"

Riku's eyes darted around for the source of the magic, but found nothing, no attackers, not even a stray Heartless. In fact, as he looked around him, the strange area that had so held his attention seemed to almost shift and move, the colors around him twisting and blending together, all the edges blurring and fading away, almost like…

Like they were _going_ somewhere, the way that he had through the portals when Melficent…!

"Mickey, grab on!" Riku shouted, thrusting his hand out behind him. "Hurry!"

He could hear the mouse-King's footsteps, bouncing along the ground just inches from him. Kouichi let out a bit of a shout, but Riku couldn't tell if it was a warning or a cry for help. The sounds began to swirl together, and he felt someone grab hold of his wrist, but he couldn't think enough to respond to the grip as his mind was lost to the void…

The last thing he saw before his consciousness faded was a mysterious, haunting castle with green-roofed, stone towers sticking out in all directions like the hands of a clock, sitting on the very edge of Twilight.

And then everything went black.

**_TBC…_**


	12. Promises

Eh…hey folks. Sorry this final chapter took so long, but I had to wait for the main story to catch up. I always meant for this little collection of stories to end this way and, well, even though the execution could have been better, I hope that you're at least happy with the glimpses of darkness we managed to gather up. This last chapter is really short even by the standards of this story, but really, I think it says all that it needs to say. Thank you for everything, enjoy the wrap-up, and I hope to see you again in the main _KoEH_ storyline.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Kingdom Hearts. I'm just a rather creative person with an overactive imagination.

**Elemental Hearts - Inside/Outside**

**Chapter 12: Promise**

Riku stepped out of the bedroom when they others did, but he did not follow them the rest of the way down the hall to the King's study. After all, he had faith in the capabilities of both Sora and the King and, with the insider information provided by Taichi Yagami, he was confident that that they could figure out a plan without him.

So instead of retreating down the hall, he leaned against the wall outside Kouichi's bedroom, waiting. It hadn't felt right for him to watch what was bound to be a private moment. After all, they _were_ brothers, bt he wanted a moment of his own.

Minutes later, Kouji stepped out, closing the door behind him. Riku caught his gaze as it clicked shut. Navy blue eyes locked with crystal blue and didn't look away for several long minutes. Kouji was glaring, slightly demanding to know what the elder boy though he was doing. Riku was glaring, wondering how those eyes cloud look so much like Kouichi's when there wasn't a hint of his soothing shadows anywhere in them.

Finally, Kouji broke the staring contest, storming away in a huff. Riku waited until he had joined the others in the study before he slipped into the bedroom himself.

Kouichi's body was still there, as it should have been, unmoving, unchanging and completely unaffected by the world around him. The peaceful expression on his face made it look like he was sleeping. Almost as though he were still there…

Riku felt his own heart pulse painfully at that thought, so he shoved into the back of his mind. Slowly, he crossed the room and took a seat – the same seat that Kouji had occupied minutes before. The room was quiet for a short while.

Finally, Riku sighed. "…Hey."

Kouichi didn't respond, not that Riku had been expecting him to. The elder warrior reached out to take his friend's hand, squeezing it gently.

"…I'm sorry," he whispered, knowing that Kouichi couldn't hear him, but wanting – no, _needing_ – to say it anyway. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you. I should have been. None of this should have ever happened. Not to you."

Kouichi's chest rose and fell in a shaky, measured breath. Riku watched it repeat the motion a few more times before he could the nerve to speak again.

"I'm going to make it right, Kouichi. We're going to make it right – your brother and me. I promise, we'll get that bastard back for what he's done to you. We'll get your Heart back. We'll save you. I promise.

"So please…" Riku paused, suddenly realizing the position that he had gradually been leaning further and further over the sleeping boy. He was so close now that the tips of their noses were brushing together. He could feel Kouichi's soft breath ghosting over his face. "So please, just…hold on. For his sake, if you won't do it for mine."

Riku dipped his head down for a split second, giving into his urge to plant a single brief, chaste kiss on the unmoving lips. The kiss tasted distinctly of darkness and something resembling Paupau fruit.

With that thought, Riku pulled away and sat up, his fingers ghosting over his own lips with a bewildered touch. Kouichi went right on sleeping, as though nothing had ever happened.

Riku let his hand drop from his lips and trail down his own body until it came to rest against the opposite hand. Distractedly, he ran his fingers along the base of his right pinky. For a few split seconds, he almost imagined that he could feel the string.

He pulled himself out of those thoughts with a forceful shake, rubbing a bit of misty fog that was not and would not turn into tears out of his eyes. With a sigh, he glanced back at Kouichi's face just one more time. The sleeping boy was still just as peaceful as ever, though a bit of hair had fallen across his eyes.

Riku brushed the dark bangs back into place and pulled the blankets up to tuck his friend in. He stroked Kouichi's cheek with the knuckles of his right hand, slightly amazed at how soft it could be despite everything the poor body had gone through.

"I'll protect you from now on," Riku whispered one last time. "I promise you that, Kouichi."

Then, without another glance, he slipped to the door and back out into the hallway, hell-bent on keeping his promises.

**( - )**

Deep in dark, dank, eternal shadows of the Realm of Darkness, an old woman sat meditating over a cup of tea that had been drained almost to the leaves. Her little room in the depths of her little hut was so covered and hidden that it would have been impossible for any normal person to see anything, let alone the lumpy piles of wet muck in the bottom of her navy-blue cup.

But she could see them, and she could see even more. She saw what no one else could, saw the hundreds and thousands of glistening strings that stretched throughout the world and all of the creatures that they connected. She saw the sightless eyes that stared back at her from the depths of her softly-glowing crystal ball and she saw the little fortune teller's shop where they originated from – an old residence of hers, as a matter of fact – all decked out and ready for tea.

And, out of the very corner of her eye, she saw a twitch.

It wasn't a very large twitch, by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, if she hadn't been waiting for exactly that tiny little twitch as the bond between two hearts changed just the tiniest bit with just the tiniest action that one could imagine, she would never have noticed it at all.

But as it was, she did notice it, and she noticed the ripple of change that it sent throughout the everlasting web, and the notice of all of these things brought a whistful smile on to her face. She turned that smile to the crystal ball and addressed the sightless eyes that were watching her through it with as slight hint of emotion. "Well now. Would you say, my young friend, that this is the beginning of an end?"

"No, dear lady," whispered Xenos from the far side, his voice sending tremors down the Strings until they reached her ears. "I would say that it is only the end of a beginning."

Having received the answer that she knew she would get, the old woman let her smile widen. Then she stood from her table and went to examine exactly how the new web would unfold before them.

**Kingdom of the Elemental Hearts: Inside/Outside**

**END**

_**(To be continued in the main storyline of "Kingdom of the Elemental Hearts")**_


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